9 Powerful Life Lessons from Confucius

Confucius was a Chinese thinker and social philosopher.

Confucius’ philosophy focused on issues of morality, both from a personal as well as a governmental perspective. Confucius taught concerning the correctness of social relationships, justice and equality. His teachings became very prominent in China.

Below are 9 Powerful Life Lessons based on the philosophy of Confucius.

9 Powerful Life Lessons from Confucius:

1. Just Keep Going

“It does not matter how slowly you go as long as you do not stop.”

If you keep going down the right path, you will eventually get to your intended destination. The hard work is being consistent; anybody can do right for a day. The person who succeeds is the person who stays committed despite the circumstances.

2. Your Friends Matter

“Never contract friendship with a man that is not better than thyself.”

Your friends are a prophecy of your future; where they are is where you’re headed. It would serve you well to find friends who are going where you want to go.

3. Good Things Come With a Price

“It is easy to hate and it is difficult to love. This is how the whole scheme of things works. All good things are difficult to achieve; and bad things are very easy to get.”

This explains a lot! It’s easy to hate, it’s easy to be negative, it’s easy to make excuses. It is love, forgiveness, and greatness that require a great heart, a great mind, and a great effort.

4. Sharpen Your Tools First

“The expectations of life depend upon diligence; the mechanic that would perfect his work must first sharpen his tools.”

Confucius said, “Success depends upon previous preparation, and without such preparation there is sure to be failure.” Whatever you are called to do, if you are to succeed, you must first be prepared.

5. To be Wronged is Nothing

“To be wronged is nothing unless you continue to remember it.”

Don’t sweat the small stuff; to be wronged is no great offense. Don’t let the wrongdoing of others ruin your day. Don’t let they’re negativity occupy your thoughts. To be wronged is nothing!

6. Consider the Consequences

“When anger rises, think of the consequences.”

Solomon said, “He that is slow to anger is greater than the mighty.” Always remember to keep your temper in check and to consider the consequences.

7. Make Adjustments

“When it is obvious that the goals cannot be reached, don’t adjust the goals, adjust the action steps.”

If its looking like you’re not going to make your goals this year, now would be a good time to adjust your plan. Don’t accept failure as an option, adjust your sails, and you will sail safely to your goal.

8. You Can Learn From Everyone

“If I am walking with two other men, each of them will serve as my teacher. I will pick out the good points of the one and imitate them and the bad points of the other and correct them in myself.”

You can and should learn from everyone, be it a crook or a saint. Every life is a story filled with lessons ripe for the picking.

9. All or None

“Wherever you go, go with all your heart.”

Whatever you do, do it with everything, or don’t do it at all. To succeed in life requires your very best, give your very best, and you will live without regrets.

Thank you for reading and be sure to pass this article along!

Mr. Self Development is an author who teaches a practical guide to success and wealth.
Please visit him at Mr. Self Development.com.

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  • omid

    sorry but i think this article is for who have aim in his life
    i dont have any goal in my life
    actually i made some but after a while the importance of it lost.
    i dont know which way i should go.
    because all the destinations become poor for me.

  • http://lookingtobusiness.com Daniel M. Wood

    Great article and very important lessons at that.
    One that really stood out at me today is the one about “To be wronged is nothing”.

    It is so true, anger, hate and resentment take up so much energy that you cannot focus on anything else and end up so tired at the end of the day.

    Don’t let anyone else ruin your life, spend it like you want to and let wrong doings rinse of you like water.

  • http://www.cultivatingheroes.com Jarrod – Cultivating Heroes

    Love 1,5 and 9.

    Just keep going and go with all your heart really is the essence of persistant motion.

    What I particularly like about ‘wherever you go, go with all your heart’ is the implicit link into being the true version of yourself that you know at the time. You cannot go with all your heart if you are trying to do something you do not believe in or if you are hiding yourself.

    Omid: Instead of worrying about goals you can try this. Think of the person you want to be, more important, what you want to feel in each moment. What would be a really nice way for you to feel right now? Peaceful, Empowered, Passionate, Cheery?

    All goals lead to being a new person and expereincing what that is like is the ultimate goal of those goals. So instead just aim to try being a new version of you that you would to be.

    Don’t know what to be, just pick one for a week. Pick that new state/emotion to feel and imagine then live it each day, each time you remember. This way you will change your life immediately, gain experience and open yourself to doors of life then you may not have even known existed.

    Enjoy.

  • http://fithappyhealthy.com Anita

    Excellent list :)

    Confucius was a wise man. I wish I’d taken 2 a little more seriously earlier in life…

  • http://sharback40@hotmail.com sharon

    Wonderful up lifting words to help me on my joyous day. I like You can learn from everyone the best, as I try to look for the good in everyone I meet I will also now look for knowledge. What I maybe do not agree with is good things come with a price as in it is easier to hate than to love, I have practiced for years the art of feeing good and looking for the good in life, It is hard for me to hate at this point in my life and easy to find love in lots of what I see.

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  • http://www.selfhelp360.com Melvin Ramos

    Great and powerful.

    These lessons talks about:

    Patience and perseverance; like Nike says “Just do it” and it can be added “Just keep doing it”.

    Social Circle Support; there is a saying “Tell me with whom you walk and I will tell who you are” it’s important to “walk” with people that adds value to your life.

    Get out of Comfort Zone; “No pain no gain”, something else needs to be added?

    Preparedness and energy renewal; “Sharpen the Saw”, we need to make a plan and take action but also you need to rest and renew your internal resources and knowledge.

    To be flexible, accept errors and be in peace of them; this helps cope with stress and let you work better on your goals.

    Think before taking an action; always respond, never react. Everything you think, say and do get you closer of farther of your dream.

    Learn from the mistakes as you learn from the good examples; if you see someone hit a wall or rock learn from him and change your direction or jump, you got it right?

    Passion, Love, Vision; you will have to move out from your comfort zone, and do some things that you don’t like, or prefer to do something else, but whatever you do should aim to a Vision, Dream or Goal that you love and have passion about.

    Mr. Self Development Thanks for this great article.

  • Dr. Disshum

    “To be wronged is nothing”. Well said. Makes you realise that no matter how hard you think your life is, other people are suffering too. So get over it.

    Check out my blog on scientific self help: http://solidstatepsychobabble.posterous.com/

  • http://www.teamcurtisfamily.com teamcurtisfamily

    I believe consistency and perseverance are key to accomplish any great success in life. Confucius was quite the wise teacher!

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    i need to reach hight potential of my life and believe that i can do. This is such an useful article giving me good methods to improve my way. Thank you so much, Mr Self development.

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