3 Life Lessons From Facebook

by

in , ,

1. Think before you speak.
We’ve all seen em. Some of us have posted em. Those status updates that happen in a split second because of something you thought was true or because of something you overheard. Had you thought it out, you would’ve never put it out for the whole world to read, but you didn’t think.

It’s the same way in life. Once we say something, it’s always out there. When we say something to someone or about someone, we can never take it back. Sure, we can apologize or be nice afterward, but that hurtful (or helpful) word is always out there. Think before you speak.

2. Protect what you value.
Those of you that follow the social media world closely know that Facebook has had it’s struggles with privacy and keeping their users secure. They’ve taken steps, but haven’t taken enough at times. It’s ultimately up to the user to decide how ‘public’ they want their information. They have to protect what they value.

All of life is like that too. Protect the relationships you value most. Protect the people you value most. Protect the possessions you value most. Protect the time you value most. Protect what you value.

3. Reap what you sow.
Like it or not, Farmville is alive and well on Facebook. I’ve never played Farmville, but from what I read, it’s a highly addictive game about planting, growing, and sharing fake crops.

In life, we reap what we sow. If we sow hate, that’s what we’ll get. If we sow negativity, we can expect it right back. On the other hand, if we sow love, we’ll get it back. You’ll reap what you sow… eventually.

(more ‘life lesson’ posts here here and here.)

OK, anymore lessons from Facebook?


Comments

13 responses to “3 Life Lessons From Facebook”

  1. Russell Avatar
    Russell

    So some people on farmville are just reaping… fake crops.. But seriously we have all been there and I wish I could take back many words that have come out of my mouth. I am also glad that I can block farmville alerts!

    1. haha… with you on both of those things man!

  2. Have never figured out or tried to figure out the enthusiasm behind Farmville. However, a friend did recently introduce me to FB Scrabble…oh boy…now that can eat up some time! But, at least I’m learning new words while wasting time. ;)

  3. This was an excellent post! I wrote one a while back with the title “O Be Careful Little Fingers What You Type.” Have a good week.

    1. ha. That’s good advice. Thanks April.

  4. Oh Farmville. The smartest thing I ever did was to delete that app from my FB account. I was too addicted to those fake crops!

    I really liked the reap what you sow point. Too often I have heard people complain that they don’t have any good friends or that no one is nice to them or that everyone around them is negative all the time. My first question to those students always is: what are you sowing? If you sow a bad friendship, that’s what you’ll get.

    Excellent post, JP!

    1. absolutely. What we give is what we get. Thanks as always, Jason!

  5. I could not agree more. When people get bent out of shape about privacy on social networks my comeback is always, “If you don’t want people to see it, don’t post it in the first place”.

    I’ve made it a point to block most games/apps and only “fan” a few pages. I want to know what’s going on in the lives of my family and friends, not get incessant updates on someone’s virtual agricultural who couldn’t grow weeds in real life if they tried.

  6. Jonathan, great post! I am a newcomer to your blog, but like what I see!

    Your first point about not being able to take something back once it is spoken or posted reminds me of a description I once heard that paints a clear picture of this.

    When you say something you later regret, it is like hammering a nail into a fence-post. You can always remove the nail, but the hole is still there.

    Thanks for your wisdom!

    1. That’s a great comparison. Really appreciate you stopping by!

  7. Much needed! Thanks!

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *