Sometimes, parents do know best!
Seeing things in hindsight is a bittersweet experience. In hindsight, we should’ve stayed away from low-rise jeans. In hindsight, getting drunk on a weekday wasn’t the best decision. And, in hindsight, we probably should’ve taken some of our parents’ advice seriously.
As kids, its easy to brush off our parents’ advice and harsh truths about life as overdramatic ramblings.
But growing up and living through similar experiences have proved that some of their lessons were correct after all.
Join IGNITE in taking a look at life lessons our parents were actually right about.
1. “Don’t follow the crowd.”
How often have we missed out on studies because our friends wanted to hangout and then had our parents ask us, “If your friends jumped in a well, would you do it too?”
While this idea was usually brought up in petty arguments, the moral of the statement stands true.
As human beings, it is natural for us to want to be socially accepted. But blindly following the crowd or trying to please people will stunt your personal growth.
Looking back as an adult, our parents were definitely right in teaching us to think for ourselves instead of going with the flow.
2. “Surround yourself with people who motivate you to do better.”
Remember your parents’ constant complaints about hanging out with people who had no ambition?
Well, they weren’t wrong after all.
You are who you surround yourself with.
If you are in the presence of people who are positive and driven, you will find yourself motivated to do better.
3. “Nothing good ever comes easy. If you want something, you’ll need to put in the work.”
As kids, it wasn’t unusual to think success came easy. We’d see musicians like Kelly Clarkson and One Direction soar to fame through reality shows and think overnight success was a common phenomenon.
What we failed to recognize is the years of hard work put in to reach the moment that helped them gain prominence.
Today, as we work towards building a career for ourselves, our parents’ emphasis on the importance of hard work rings true.
4. “Words need to be backed by actions or else they’re futile.”
Almost all of us have thrown out thousands of apologies to our parents after failing to do our homework in school because watching TV seemed more important.
And their reply— “Saying sorry means nothing if you don’t make an effort to change.”
Be it an apology or a promise, not going through with your commitments is a recipe for failure and will end up with people losing faith in you.
Instead, only make promises that you know you can keep!
5. “Don’t quit at the first sign of failure.”
We’ll be honest, one of our major weaknesses is that we expect ourselves to be perfect at everything we do, even if it’s our first time trying it.
And that’s why our first urge after failing at something is to give up. Because if it’s not perfect then why bother trying?
But skills take time to develop. Van Gogh didn’t make the Starry Night the first time he held a brush! He learned and practiced hard to excel at painting.
Similarly, you’ll need to go through multiple trial and errors in your journey towards perfecting a skill.
6. “It IS all because of your phone!”
Your parent blaming your phone for your stomach-ache might be a stretch, but they weren’t wrong when they said your phone is a problem!
It not only causes physical problems like reduced hearing and vision problems, but also increases mental health issues.
Let’s not forget social media addiction and its subsequent contribution towards increasing insecurities.
All in all, a little break from your smartphone is always a good idea!
While some of us might have taken our time in realizing the importance of these life lessons, it’s never too late to put them into action.
Have any interesting lessons you think deserve a spot on this list? Share it with us by tagging @shareignite on Instagram and Twitter.
Happy adulting!
Ready to put these life lessons into action? You could start by reducing your screen time! Here are ways to stop checking your phone every 5 minutes.
Follow IGNITE on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter for all things student life.
