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Three Things People Said That Stuck With Me for Life.
And steered my thought processes.
Change
At school, my art teacher once said, “Never go back; things will have changed without you.”
The older I get, the more I appreciate what he meant.
I’ve always lived in the present, partly because of his advice.
I never revisited workplaces to see former colleagues, even though I have been lucky enough to enjoy wonderful times with them. I like to keep those memories frozen in joyful moments.
Life quickly moves on.
But sometimes you have to go back.
When I do occasionally visit the city I grew up in, it leaves me with a mixture of emotions.
I marvel at how some parts of the city are now unrecognisable and feel sad that the pubs I visited during my youth have changed ownership; even more sadly, the names have changed too.
Remembering my college days and fun with friends makes me warm inside, but it is also tinged with regret that they are now spread all over the world, and it is difficult to meet up.
Several years ago we did manage to all meet up in the city that spawned us, but although we all still have a strong connection, it can’t compare with the fun we once had together.
I don’t entirely agree with my art teacher’s advice, but I do understand where he was coming from.
Habits
At 17 I left the UK to live abroad for a year.
The lady I worked for advised me, “When you get married, if your husband asks you to get up in the night to fetch him a glass of water, don’t do it, or he will expect you to do it forever after.”
At the time I took the advice literally, but over time I came to understand what she really meant.
Don’t let someone have you run around after them.
It didn’t matter who they were.
As I matured, I revised the advice and applied it when I thought necessary, and mostly it has served me well.
We can’t always help our own nature, and sometimes I have gone above and beyond for people that didn’t always appreciate it.
But I have no regrets.
Don’t put your life on hold.
These words of wisdom came at a particularly poignant time in my life.
I had been coasting along, deeply unhappy, but glossing over how I felt because I didn’t think I could change my circumstances.
It still surprises me that it took a momentary comment from a near stranger to completely change my life.
From that day my life changed immeasurably for the better.
Out of all the things I’ve heard and read over the years, these three things have stuck with me..
Do you have advice or comments you have absorbed and carried with you forever?
