Life's like that.

It isn't what you expected.

It doesn't matter what "it" is, it's probably not what you expected.  That person that you were so excited to learn from because he always seems to know what he's talking about?  When you need him most, he's going to be willfully ignorant and completely unhelpful.  That person that you respect so highly for her virtue?  When you get to know her, it turns out she's both evil and completely asinine.  That dog that will be so fun to train?  He has a learning disability.

It's not that the world is out to get you, or that you're an idiot, or that you're unlucky.  It's simply that you never know what you're going to get.  Life's like that.


People will show their true colors soon enough.

Similar to the above, when you get to know someone well enough, you'll see their beauty and their flaws.  Eventually, the actions of others will reveal who really cares about you, who loves you enough to do anything they can for you, and who is more concerned about you than they are about themselves.  In the same way, their actions will reveal who only wanted you in their life so they could use you, benefit from you, take advantage of you, and serve their own selfish needs.  Life's like that.


Your true colors will show through, too.

You are, at some level, the same as the rest of us.  You can't pretend to be what you're not indefinitely, so become the person you want to be or end up regretting it.  Life's like that.


It isn't fair.

Quit whining about it.  It isn't fair.  Bad things happen to good people.  Good things happen to evil people.  Bad investments sometimes get lucky, and good investments sometimes just don't work out.  Remember, no one really wants fairness except when it benefits themselves.  The thing is, if it isn't working out for you, it is probably working out for someone else.  It's not fair.  It's often unpreventable.  Life's like that.


It usually doesn't matter.

The huge problem you are dealing with probably won't be that big of a deal a year from now.  That job that you want so badly?  A year from now you won't care if you didn't get it, and you probably won't think is so great if you do.  That mechanical problem you're having with your car?  It's just a car.  In the end, it's just money spent whether you fix it or replace it.  If you hold your problems three inches from your face, they will always seem bigger than what you're really cut out to handle.  If you put them back into perspective, it's probably not terribly significant in the grand scheme of things.  Do your best, things will turn out, and you will be okay.  Life's like that.


The things that matter work out when you pursue them.

I don't know what your priorities are, but at the end of your life those you leave behind will know.  If money is all that you think about, you might have some rough patches, but when you're in your casket people will be fighting over what you left behind.  If your family is your priority, they will be crying over your passing, but they'll be okay.    If following God is what you want most, everyone, including God himself, will say so.  If you are obsessed with the Cubs, they'll bury you in a Cubs shirt and hat and everyone will shake their heads and say, "His whole life he followed the Cubs, and he never saw them win the World Series."  If you put all your energy into manipulating and controlling, everyone will say "Thank God.  We're free!" and everything you fought your whole life to put into place will unravel.  Was it always all about you?  You might be the only one at your funeral.  Life's like that.


It's mostly up to you.

There are a huge number of variables in life that are completely beyond your control.  Fortunately, it's highly unlikely that anyone is actually trying to sabotage your life, and if your situation is the rare exception, it's even more unlikely that the loser who is wasting their life trying to ruin yours has significantly more resources than you to accomplish that goal.  In the end, it's your decisions that will determine how your life story progresses, even if the unforeseen makes the journey a little longer and bumpier than anticipated.  Life's like that.