Life is filled with ups and downs. When you feel like you're experiencing more downs than ups，sometimes it helps to get a little tough love. That's why we put together this list of five harsh（残酷的）truths that will help you grow.

1. Life isn't fair.

Life will hand you lemons，often when you least expect it. 【小题1】

2. The first step is always the hardest.

Changing bad habits is tough. Chinese philosopher Lao Tzu once said，" 【小题2】"So if you want to change something，start with small steps.

3. You may be better off without some of the people you currently care about.

Chances are that there's someone in your life you care about deeply who is holding you back. 【小题3】However，there comes a time when you need to make the tough decision to say no to people who can't help you grow.

4. 【小题4】

If you don't take risks you will have a hard time accomplishing what you want in life. People who truly change the world are the biggest risk-takers. And they treat each failure as an opportunity to grow and get better.

5. You are the only thing to hold yourself back from greatness.

Often we get so caught up in hoping for the next great thing that we don't realize what's unfolding right in front of our faces. 【小题5】 Instead, focus on the positive things you have in your life. Choose to be happy right now.

   How do you stay true to yourself when you’re surrounded by friends and families that have an opinion on everything you do? It’s not easy! 【小题1】 Here are four tips which can help you live a dynamic（充满活力的）life.

【小题2】

Stay true to yourself by listening to the only opinions that really matter-your own and those from people who believe in and encourage you. Deep down you know yourself better than anybody else.

Don’t fear.

【小题3】 The reason why most people don’t take risks, or live on the edge is the fear of what others might think of them. If you want to live the life you truly deserve, you must give up the need to be liked by everybody.

Value yourself and your choices.

When you do, others will too. Own the choices you make in your life. 【小题4】 When you believe in yourself, others will believe in you too. Show confidence in your choices, and what you stand for whether others agree or not.

Focus on appreciation.

No matter what the circumstances（环境）are, there is always something to be grateful for. All successful people ask, “What am I grateful for? How can I improve my situation and use these tough times to inspire others?” 【小题5】

These steps, if applied, will help you transform（使改变）your peace of mind, lifestyle, and productivity.

   Here are four principles (行为准则) I live by. Whenever I follow these guidelines, I am at my very best, feeling productive and happy.

Devote time.

No matter how talented we may be, it’s wrong to think we can do it all. 【小题1】 The value of our achievements is greatly decided by what we spend our time on. We need to realize that every day we should devote the time to what matters and have the courage to let the unimportant things go.

Focus your attention.

Very often it seems that we just can’t focus our attention, even though we know what we should be doing, right? Resistance (阻力) makes us get disturbed by distractions.【小题2】 Developing a plan for overcoming resistance is important for maximum productivity.

【小题3】

We need to make a balance between work and play, between creation and pleasure.【小题4】 Even if we feel energetic to work long hours, the most effective long-term way is to hold ourselves back when we feel crazy and follow a proper pace instead.

Keep moving on.

More important than setting big goals is to just keep going. I know this goes against most of the “ set great goals for yourself” advice, but it’s what works for me.【小题5】 And it always made me more worried than it helped. Now, what does work for me is to think about how to improve my life and take small steps to make it happen.

   Friends should always be honest with you, right? So when they lie, it can  be really hard to take. You want to trust your friends and that means knowing that they'll tell it to you straight no matter what it is. But a friend who lies isn't always trying to hurt you. Why does this happen?

Protect your feelings

One of the biggest reasons friends lie is simply to avoid hurting your feelings.

Some people don't understand the difference between being gently honest with a friend and being so straightforward（直接了当的）that they leave a verbal wound. They choose to avoid these two extremes in the form of a lie.

What you can do: Encourage your friends to be straight with you. No matter what their answer is, let them know you are grateful for it.

They feel embarrassed

Sometimes friends will lie about things in their life because they are too embarrassed to admit the truth. Maybe they are going through a rough time and they just don't want you to know about it.

What you can do: Avoid trying to badger（纠缠）your friend into telling you what's wrong. Instead, make it clear that you are there for them when and if they are ready to talk.

Avoid an argument with you

Perhaps your friend knows that if they tell you the truth, you'll get angry with them. Avoiding conflict is not always healthy for a friendship because it allows problems to grow over time. If you have a bad temper（脾气）, your friend might try and avoid getting into an argument with you and instead just tell you what you want to hear.

What you can do: Make sure that if a friend tells you something unpleasant, you don't overreact. Consider what's being said and why your friend is telling you this. If you do end up arguing, do it in a respectable way.

Exclude you

Lying isn't always a sign that friends are trying to protect you, however. Sometimes they lie because they want to exclude you from their plans.

What you can do：When you find out with certainty that your friend is lying to you, try and face it. Be forewarned, however, that if a friend lies to begin with, he or she may lie when asked a direct question about his or her dishonesty. Go with your guts on this. If you feel your friend is lying because he or she doesn't want to be around you, that's your wake-up call to move on.

   Brain fitness has basic principles：variety and curiosity. When anything you do becomes second nature，you need to make a change.If you can do the crosswords（纵横字谜）in your sleep，it’s time for you to move on to a new challenge in order to get the best workout for your brain. Curiosity about the world around you，how it works and how you can understand it will keep your brain working fast and efficiently.【小题1】

Play Games

Brain fitness programs and games are a wonderful way to tease and challenge your brain. Sudoku，crosswords and electronic games can all improve your brain’s speed and memory. These games rely on logic，word skills，math and more.【小题2】 You’ll get more benefit by doing these games a little bit every day—spend 15 minutes or so，not hours.

Think Deeply

Thinking deeply every day is perhaps the single greatest thing you can do for your mind or body health.【小题3】

Eat for Your Brain

【小题4】 Focus on fish oils from wild salmon（鲑），nuts such as walnuts，seeds such as flaxseed and olive oil. Eat more of these foods and less fats. Remove trans fats（反式脂肪）completely from your diet.

【小题5】

Stories are a way that we strengthen memories，explain events and share moments. Practice telling your stories，both new and old，so that they are interesting，attractive and fun. Some basic storytelling techniques will go a long way in keeping people’s interest both in you and in what you have to say.