6 Rules of Life you must live by

Every game has got its own rules; Life is a game and it is strictly guided by rules. If you do what you are supposed to do, you get the result, if not immediately, soon. If you also did otherwise, you get the result as soon as possible. Everyone on different lanes of life has designed and defined his or her own rules. We all answer different question papers and so, are not expected to give the same answers. 

Whether you create your own rules or not, there are just six particular things you must put into consideration in all you do. They are not just there to scare you or restrict you, but they are there to guide you in getting things done easily and as soon as possible. They are almost the law of “Cause and Effect” and are very compulsory towards a spontaneous life success. So what are they?

Believe before you Pray

The German theologian and religious reformer, Martin Luther says, ‘I shall never be a heretic, I may err in dispute; but I do not wish to decide anything finally; on the other hand, I am not bound by the opinions of men’. What is the essence of praying when you don’t believe in what you are praying to. Don’t ever try to go to the presence of God without acknowledging his powers, his ability to save or deliver you, his interest in your life and the hope that your request has been granted.

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If you deem it fit to tell Him what you are passing through, then its right for you to believe that your request is granted. Gabriel Garcia Marquez says, ‘I don’t believe in God, but I’m afraid of Him’. It is better not to pray to him than pray to Him with unbelief. It’s more like knowing someone as lame and taunting him to walk. ‘Whenever you pray to God without believing in His power to answer you, you are only making jest of Him’.

‘And I said to the man who stood at the gate of the year: 'Give me a light that I may tread safely into the unknown.' And he replied: 'Go out into the darkness and put your hand into the hand of God. That shall be to you better than light and safer than a known way.' - Minnie Louise Haskins 

Listen before you Speak

The quality of your attention determines the quality of other people's thinking - Nancy Kline. Only an empty barrel speaks without hearing anything. How do you respond without stimuli? Those that speak when they didn’t listen are most time rabble-rousers. You can’t give what you don’t have. It is the province of knowledge to speak and it is the privilege of wisdom to listen - Oliver Wendell Holmes. What is the seed that was sowed into you that is manifesting as your speech.

Even the Holy Bible says, ‘Be quick to listen, and slow to reply’. Your brain should do more of responding than reacting. A good listener is not someone who has nothing to say. A good listener is a good talker with a sore throat - Katharine Whitehorn. Everyone at a time or the other has something to say, but the wise are decoded through their ability to listen. Therefore, always hear the question before you give answers, always listen to the premises before giving conclusions and always know the problems before you suggest solutions.

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‘There is only one rule for being a good talker—learn to listen’. - Christopher Darlington Morley

Earn before you Spend

‘I earn that I eat, get that I wear, owe no man hate, envy no man's happiness, glad of other men's good, content with my harm’ - William Shakespeare. A man who doesn’t work should not eat. Excuses are the wages of the lazy ones. The Profligates are the ones who spend anyhow; it is really a bad thing to do. Of course money is not free, so why should it be spent like it is. Every wealthy and wise man knows when to spend. Something has to come in before it leaves. You don’t spend out of your savings; you only spend out of profit. ‘My problem lies in reconciling my gross habits with my net income’ - Errol Flynn. 

If your spending doesn’t reflect your income, that is, you have more expenses than income, then you are penny wise and pound foolish; you lack financial wisdom and you would soon go bankrupt. Samuel Butler says, ‘All progress is based upon a universal innate desire on the part of every organism to live beyond its income’. From the words of the British political scientist, historian and writer, Cyril Northcote Parkinson, ‘Expenditure rises to meet income’. Yes, your expenditure should keep struggling to meet up with your income and your income should never be the one to struggle with your expenses.

Think before you Write

According to Michel de Montaigne, ‘It is good to rub and polish our brain against that of others’. It is only secretaries that are told what to write. It is when you listen, then think and ruminate before you know what to write. Those that write before they think tend to write rubbish, I mean, they write what doesn’t make sense. According to William James, ‘We are thinking beings, and we cannot exclude the intellect from participating in any of our functions’. Everyone has a brain and you are expected to use it. You tend to lose a brain you don’t use. So, one of the important rules of life is to think before writing.

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‘A man is not idle because he is absorbed in thought. There is visible labor and there is invisible labor’ - Victor Hugo.

Try before you Quit

‘Quitters never win and Winners never quit’. There is no gut without glory. At some point of a journey to success, one gets tired, everything looks gloomy. According to Donald Trump, the President of The United States of America (POTUS), ‘In the end, you are measured not by how much you undertake, but by what you finally accomplish’. Therefore, no one remembers or cares about your number of trials; people are only concerned about the outcome of your trial. Attempt the end, and never stand to doubt; nothing’s so hard but search will find it out - Robert Herrick. 

Even if you failed, you only gained experience; nothing is lost except time which would later be regained when you are successful. It is not how far, but how well. You have many reasons to keep trying but no reason to stop trying. Remember, what you don’t conquer is your master; the only way to master it is to conquer it.

‘If at first you don't succeed, try, try, try again’. - Anonymous 

Live before you Die

 Death is a ‘constant k’ to every man. No one leaves the earth alive. However, the essence of death itself is life. One has to live before he dies. A dead person need not die again. However, living before dying implies that one must serve his purpose before he leaves the earth. A man with no purpose has no life to live. He is just branching on the earth as a sojourner. If you completed nothing before you pass on, you never lived. If you affected no lives before your eyes are permanently closed, you only wasted oxygen. 

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Life is more valuable when it brings happiness to so many. Always ask yourself, what I have accomplished, what would I be remembered for. ‘The purpose of human life is to serve and to show compassion and the will to help others’. - Albert Schweitzer.

If there are no answers yet to this, then you have never lived. However, it is not too late, start to live life now before you die.

Make sure you make others happy every day. Help as much as you can, lift as many as your strength and resources can carry, then you can close your eyes in peace knowing fully well you have lived before you died.

‘My dream was a beautiful one: after graduation, I'd go home and alleviate the suffering of all those unfortunates who had been victimized like my father. In the event of war, I'd become a surgeon in the military; and in any case, I would strengthen my countrymen's faith in modernization’ - Lu Xun (Chinese writer).

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