When we pay attention and learn from the things we experience in life, be it good or bad, we acquire wisdom. That wisdom should be used to guide you in future situations, so that the only L’s you take are lessons. Learning from the past, being attentive to the present, and using wisdom, can be the difference in learning a lesson, and a lesson learned.
As a child, I remember hearing elders say, particularly to hard headed kids or stubborn teenagers/young adults, “You gon’ learn ya lesson if you keep on,” or “you gon’ learn your lesson, one way or another.” They were trying to give young people wisdom that they’d acquired from a lesson learned, but you know, when we are young, we just have to learn for ourselves- usually the hard way.
Being young and naive can be used as an excuse when we are in fact, young and naive, but when we know better, we should do better.
We shouldn’t be in our thirties and forties, repeating the same mistakes we made in our teens, or twenties. There’s no excuse for that.
A lesson is meant to be passed, so that we become better individuals, make better decisions, and move forward in a positive direction. What was supposed to be a lesson learned, shouldn’t become a life sentence of learning a lesson.
We all should be learning and growing, not repeating lessons and remaining stagnant.
The Word of God says in 1 Corinthians 13:11, “When I was a child, I spake as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child: but when I became a man, I put away childish things.”
If we keep finding ourselves in different situations that have the same negative outcome, perhaps it’s because the lessons haven’t been learned. Unfortunately, these negative results can manifest in our relationships, in our spiritual walk, our health or even in our finances.
Depending on the person, some people have yet to learn their lesson, therefore their relationships won’t mature past dating. Although it’s with a different person, every two years, they get the same result- a dead end, that ends the same way the previous relationships did.
The same can be said about wanting to be healthy, but continuing to eat unhealthy and not being physically active, or living above one’s means, but desiring to be financially stable, or wanting a deeper relationship with God, but also wanting to be a part of the world.
It’s not enough to know better, apply wisdom, and do better.
Lesson learned.
Shubricca L Bell 