One of the things I’ve always tried to do in my life was absorb the information given to me by older people, as I always knew that there was no replacement for experience, and I knew that my youth was a disadvantage when it came to making big decisions, so with those two things in mind I have always listened to people who had a few years on me that I respected.
Now thats not to say that young people cant offer advise or have nothing of importance to add to a decision, or that older people are always right, but it is to say that generally older people have “been there, done that” quite a bit more, and thus can typically offer a much more thoughtful reply than a younger person. Many times those older than us are trying to help us avoid the pitfalls they have made in the past.
As I’m sure many people can relate, two of those people are my parents. My mother has been invaluable in my life and I’m not discounting her influence with the name of this blog, but this particular entry focuses on my dad. I’ve probably been taught more than I realize from the old man, but one of the key lessons he taught me as a kid that has stuck with me into my young adulthood was, like most good ideas, very simple:
You will never feel bad if you’ve done the right thing.
I’ve tried to incorporate this “philosophy” into my life every day. The idea is very simple, but that doesnt mean that it is very easy. Doing the right thing is often hard, and sometimes leaves you with a pit in your stomach because the right thing can even be emotionally painful … But at the end of the day, if you’ve truly done whats best, you cant help but feel good about the situation. The feeling you get making a bad decision is not so easily relieved I’ve found out.
Now this lesson didn’t fully sink in until I was probably 20 or so, after I had made a few of my own bad decisions. These weren’t life altering decisions, and honestly they probably didn’t even affect anyone else all that greatly, but I’ve made sure that they have affected me greatly. If only I had listened to my dad back then… So now I use these bad decisions as a watch dog for myself, to remind myself how I felt and continue to feel about making those types of decisions. I hope by using my past indiscretions as examples I can make the right decisions in the future.
It doesnt happen very often, but on the road of life when I come to a fork and one side leads to the path of least resistance, and the other is long and winding, but in the end will be the right road to choose, I think back to those words my dad told me as a kid and I think back to those times in my past where I chose the easy road and how that made me feel… And then taking the long road doesnt feel quite as bad knowing that my dad is walking with me.
So here’s to all the mentors that have helped me in the past. Here’s to all the people who took the time our of their day to impart a little hard earned, age-acquired wisdom on me. Here’s to you dad. I’m sure you all have taught me a great many things I haven’t even realized yet.
As always, now its you’re turn. What lessons have been passed down to you that you try and incorporate into your lives? Share in the comments section below.