The beautiful thing about the internet is that you get to hear stories from people all over the world, people with unique experiences that are so different from your own, people you never would have spoken to otherwise.
A post made to Reddit’s r/AskReddit forum asked the group, “What life lesson did you learn that you will never forget and when did you learn it?” Users are now flocking to the question and sharing their wisdom with the hope it will help someone else. Here’s some of what they answered with.
On friends.
One user wrote , “[Not] everybody who speaks in a pleasant way to you is your friend.”
Another followed up with a short addition, “‘Nice’ is different than ‘good’.”
On being right.
“If you’re right but you’re obnoxious about it, people won’t see you as the good guy,” read one answer , “Took me until the end of grad school to figure that one out.”
On liking people.
This user dropped their advice , then added some clarification, “‘You don’t like everybody, so don’t worry about everybody liking you.’ Of course, be respectful to everyone you meet. But don’t bend over backwards to please all of them.”
On picking battles.
This person imparted some short and simple advice , “Learn to pick your battles wisely. Some things just are not worth fighting.”
On time.
“My best friend passed away a few years ago and [I] learned 2 life lessons,” began this user, who proceeded to share both lessons , “1. Never keep people in your life if they don’t love and respect you as much as you do them. 2. Never take for granted the time you spend with the people you keep. It could be over any day.”
On mistakes.
“Don’t hang on to your mistakes just because you spent a lot of time making them. Time invested is a myth,” wrote one respondent , who had many agreeing to that last sentiment.
“Sunk cost fallacy. The amount of [money|time|effort|love|whatever] you’ve dumped into something is irrelevant, only the return you’ll get from further investment,” added another.
On relationships.
“My dad taught me as a teenager that relationships should be easy. Biggest and best lesson I’ve ever learned. Relationships should not be filled with drama but with friendship and respect. Really helped me choose who to be with. Now I teach my daughters the same thing so maybe they can prevent being in a painful relationship.” Hearing this user is passing on such great advice to their daughters is heartwarming!
On relationships, again.
Remember how the last piece said relationships should be easy? Here’s some advice for when they’re not. “You can’t fix another person no matter how long you stay with them. They have to want to treat you better and want to be better themselves. And going back to them only makes them think you’ll stay no matter what they do to you. Prove them wrong.”
On closeness.
Another answer read, “You don’t ever truly know another person. Unless you can take up residence in their head, you’ll never be privy to their true nature. […] It’s not always malicious, sometimes you latch onto the idea of a person rather than who they are. It’ll eventually drive you apart as you realize that there is incongruity between who they are and who you think they are.”
On generosity.
“Don’t become a walking charity,” began this user’s answer . “When I was in my early-to-mid-20s, I had a lot of ‘friends’ who were falling on hard times or needed various types of help. And I was only too happy to help […] Not one of them repaid – financially, or otherwise. Instead, I was just taken advantage of, left, right and centre.”
On your body.
Namely, how to treat it properly . “Listen to your body. […] When your body/mind is tired, rest. When you’re hungry, eat intuitively. When you’re stressed, find an effective way to decompress […]. When you already have too much on your plate, SAY NO. I know it can be easier said than done, but it’s a worthwhile investment in yourself. YOU are worth it!”
On investments.
Altering a common turn of phrase sums up this user’s wisdom , “The grass isn’t greener on the other side, it’s greener where you water it. Relationships. Career. Everything, don’t give up and throw things away cause it gets tough, fix it and make it better. Or put into it and grow what you want.”
On other people.
“People treating you poorly is a reflection on them, not you,” read this short-but-sweet piece of advice , a good reminder in sour times.
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On helmets.
Another more practical entry, and one that’s been said many times before, but it cannot be repeated enough.
“[…] always wear a helmet when riding a bike. I [fell off my bike] when I was 9 or 10 and I hit the ground so hard that the BRAND NEW helmet broke in half and I couldn’t walk for about a week. Luckily I fell off in front of a [paramedic’s] house and I was with my cousin so I was ok but if I didn’t wear that helmet I wouldn’t be here today.”
On asking.
“If you don’t ask, you don’t get.”
This user went on to explain how, in their workplace, they saw some team members asking for some ridiculous stuff, but oftentimes they’d get what they asked for. “[…] I learned to make my own demands. Sometimes I got what I wanted and sometimes I didn’t. But I never received anything I wanted but didn’t ask for.”
On time management.
“If you can do it under 3 minutes, then do it immediately.” Another short phrase that holds immense power if utilized correctly!
On self-love.
“Expecting enough love from others to have a sustained income of love won’t work,” heeds one respondent, “Love yourself and you always will be loved unconditionally.”
On…mints?
“Never refuse when someone offers you a breath mint – my grandfather after I declined a breath mint from him.”
A hard lesson to learn I bet, but probably the best advice to be given — a mint is also a hint!
On worry.
“Nothing that life has to offer is worth the price of worry.”
They credited this advice to the book Think and Grow Rich , and what good advice it is!
On the internet.
Something we all ought to remember sometimes, this user wrote, “Don’t say dumb [expletive] on the Internet.” They then admitted that they, too, are ‘still working on it’.
