Ironically, most of us spend at least 12-16 years of our lives in school, yet, we don’t learn much about real-life during our time there. Even the new “common core” education doesn’t begin to cover the true lesson that we need as adults to function properly in this world and stimulate our growth.

That claim is evidenced by this 4th grader who challenged the conventional system and garnered the attention of the school board in Florida.

After we get out of school, most of us have to spend some time deprogramming from the system we have been thrown into and lift the veil from over our eyes in order to learn important life lessons.

Here are 10 lessons about life that you probably didn’t learn in school:

1. Your job title doesn’t define who you are.

Most people go into careers that they don’t truly enjoy just to make good money, and according to a 2017 Gallup Poll survey, a whopping 70% of people in America feel disengaged from their jobs.

Many become attached to their job titles, thinking that their labels really determine who they are. However, you are much more than the job you hold; you are literally energy personified.

A job title doesn’t even begin to describe your true identity. In fact, it only shows what you do to make an income. Your character and level of consciousness do a much better job of portraying what lies within your heart.

2. You are a living, breathing embodiment of cosmic energy with endless power.

No one can take this power away from you, not with money, fame, war, threats, or insults. You incarnated here on this planet from the same Source as everyone else, so we all come here with equal potential. You’re not just a machine here to perform a job so you can pay bills and make your boss happy; you came here to shake this world to its core and redefine what it means to live on this planet.

You have left an everlasting imprint on the world just by being here, so don’t ever feel unimportant, because your life matters more than you have been led to believe.

3. Collaboration is more important than competition.

“If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go together.” – African Proverb

School teaches us to regurgitate “facts” we have learned in textbooks, get high marks on tests, put those results on our resumes, and get a good job making an honest living. It teaches very little about the power of the collective and what we can really accomplish together.

You have unlimited potential, but it expands even more when you become a leader and share your knowledge and experiences with others. Also, you should view others as equal players in this grand scheme of life.

4. Most learning takes place from experiences, not from reading textbooks.

Schooling seems to value learning from books over gaining knowledge from experiences. Extracurricular activities and recess time have been cut drastically in recent years as more emphasis is put on end-of-year statewide tests designed to measure everyone on the same principles.

However, everyone learns differently, and you don’t create yourself by reading the information given by others.

You invent yourself by getting out there and immersing yourself in new experiences that will make a lasting impression on your heart and soul. Real learning begins to take place once you have left the confines of school and allow life to be your teacher.

5. Happiness begins and ends with you.

Most schools teach that happiness comes from something outside yourself, whether that be grades on tests, how many friends you have, how popular you are, or something of that sort.

Truthfully, you will find happiness only within yourself once you realize that you are solely in charge of your energy, no one else.

6. All life is sacred, and we are all equal beings on this Earth, despite our physical differences.

When we get into school, we’re immediately placed in a class based on our intellect; you might know these as “regular” and “honors” classes. Our whole being is judged by how quickly we can calculate math problems or how high we score on a test, which further separates us from our peers. The color of our skin places us in categories by the state, and many of us got bullied by those who were in the “popular” crowd.

Out of school, though, none of these trivial lessons really matter. We all come from the same force, and we will all go back to the same source. We may look and act differently, but inside, we all just want love, compassion, and meaning in our lives. Schooling wants to separate us, but the universe just wants us all to become united in the truth once again.

7. Food is medicine.

What school teaches very little of is something that will impact your entire life: nutrition. Upon graduating, most of us learned the horrors of our food industries on this Earth and began educating ourselves on proper health and nutrition.

Fruit and vegetables can heal and will raise you into a totally new vibration.

8. If most of society is doing something, you should probably do the opposite.

Schooling teaches conformity, but looking at our current state of affairs, most of us can probably agree that paving our own path will take us to a better place than following the crowd. Nonconformity will set you free from society’s chains.

9. Self-love opens the door to attracting love from others.

In school, you won’t learn one of the most fundamental lessons about life: how to love yourself. Your relationship with yourself determines your entire life, from the relationships you have with others to how you feel mentally and physically. Love will save us, and it all begins in your own heart.

10. Helping others will bring more true happiness than bringing home a bigger paycheck.

Another lesson hardly emphasized in grade school is the power of helping others. We get taught that only our grades and class rank matter when there are so many people hurting in today’s world that need our help. We have the ability to come together as a whole and bring balance to a very chaotic world, but only if we realize that we are all one family, one life force, one being that can turn darkness into light with the power of our intentions.

Final Thoughts: Share the Lessons You Learned After Leaving School

What other important lessons have you learned outside of school? Share in the discussion below!