10 Things I Know For Sure

Taking a cue from Oprah's "20 Things I Know For Sure" campaign.

If you read O magazine or keep up with the Oprah website, you might have seen her recent campaign to have different people share 20 things that they know for sure about life. Even though I am not a devout Oprah fan, unlike some of my friends, I have to admit that sometimes she gets it right.

Personally, I think that we all have insight to share and that great advice doesn't have to come from gurus or self help specialists. Sometimes, the person who has been looking for a job for the better part of a year, the college graduate who is just figuring out how to survive in the adult world or the old woman who has been raised kids and grandkids can have unique insight into life.

I was so impressed by this idea, I'd like to share 10 things and invite everyone to add their own 10 things as well.

Here are 10 things I know for sure:

• You can't be open to receive what you need if your hands are full - When you spend your time holding onto things that aren't working, you can't be open to hear or take advantage of anything new. Look at everything as an opportunity and keep yourself open to new ideas.

• Do what you love, the pay check is a bonus - Over the years, I have worked at many different jobs. The truth is that it doesn't matter how much they pay, if you don't love what you do, it's work. Find a way to do what you love because life is too short to spend it doing anything else.

• When you feel useless, give your time to others - When I feel that I am not effective and incompetent (which happens more often than I'd care to admit) I look for ways to volunteer my time and talents to help others. Just being able to give the little bit that I have can give me back so much in return. It helps me to remember that we are all in this together and to feel a part of something bigger than myself.

• If you can't make a decision or you aren't sure, you don't have to choose - Sometimes I just can't decide what to do. Instead of forcing myself to make a choice right away, I sit with it for a little while. The right path always seems to show itself.

• If the voices in your head aren't treating you with compassion, they aren't on your side - This is a hard one. We all have an inner tape that plays and often it's purpose is to beat us up for not living up to its expectations. If your voice isn't treating you with as much compassion as you would give your closest friend then it isn't on your side. Don't listen to it.

• If you aren't making mistakes, you aren't really trying hard - Mistakes aren't failures, they just mean that you are trying. Think about a child learning to walk. Even though they fall down pretty often, those attempts aren't failures, they are just part of the process of learning something new. If you aren't making mistakes then you aren't growing.

• Money isn't the measure of success - Unless you believe that our purpose on this planet is to have as much stuff as possible before we die, having money doesn't make your life successful. Think about what your purpose is and then measure your success.

• Don't do things just because you think you're supposed to, unless they make sense for you - Trust your own judgement. For example, just because teenagers are supposed to go to college doesn't mean that all teens are college material. There is nothing wrong with opting to go to a trade school or take some time to work before deciding on a career path. Do what makes sense for you and your situation.

• Worry is not preparation - Stop worrying, it doesn't help. It just wastes energy you could be using to do something productive. If you've done all that you can, take a rest.

• Be kind - In my home, this is the first and only thing on the list of house rules. Instead of focusing on things being either good or bad, I look to see if they are kind or unkind. Being bad is sometimes fun but being unkind isn't.

What are the 10 things you know for sure? Please share your lists here in the comments.

By Melissa Kennedy- Melissa is a 9 year blog veteran and a freelance writer for PhillyJobsBlog and Nexxt, along with helping others find the job of their dreams, she enjoys computer geekery, raising a teenager, supporting her local library, writing about herself in the third person and working on her next novel.