# Simple lessons you have learned. And they have stayed with you all your life. **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [December 21, 2016, 3:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/simple-lessons-you-have-learned-and-they-have-stayed-with-you-all-your-life/775302 "2016-12-21T15:48:09Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Les\_Espaces\_Du\_Sommeil](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/les_espaces_du_sommeil/32/308_2.png) [@Les\_Espaces\_Du\_Sommeil](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Les_Espaces_Du_Sommeil)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2016, 11:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/simple-lessons-you-have-learned-and-they-have-stayed-with-you-all-your-life/775302/41 "2016-12-22T11:59:22Z")
_Perfect is the enemy of good_ You really can ruin a perfectly acceptable or even fine situation by trying to make it “better”. ---
**Author:** ![iiandyiiii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/iiandyiiii/32/7924_2.png) [@iiandyiiii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iiandyiiii)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2016, 12:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/simple-lessons-you-have-learned-and-they-have-stayed-with-you-all-your-life/775302/42 "2016-12-22T12:09:25Z")
> [@Nava](#): > > Only because someone has been declared responsible for something, doesn’t mean they’ve got the will or the ability to do it (my eldest cousin had the caretaking instincts of a chunk of granite, God rest his soul but he was more likely to get the little ones in trouble than keep them out of it). > > This one is a cultural shibboleth, or at least the specific phrasing I learned as a child is: _la primera, conocerás al personal_. The first (rule of getting anything done, or relationships, or pretty much anything in life), know the people you’re dealing with. > > You can’t solve a problem until you recognize it exists. Be realistic about your situation. > > That’s actually adressed, not to people who if they set out to arrive at 19:50 will arrive at 19:50, but to those like my brother Ed whose travel time calculations are always “from tollbooth to tollbooth” instead of “from door to door”. If he tries to arrive at 19:50 he may be finally there a little before 20:30 rather than at 21-and-change… It’s amazing how many people can’t successfully estimate travel times. It seems so easy to me: I know it’s a 15 minute walk to the subway station, about 20 minutes to get downtown on the train, and probably 10 minutes to walk if the restaurant is new to me. Why is that so hard for so many people? ---
**Author:** ![Jennshark](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/8e8cbc/32.png) [@Jennshark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jennshark)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2016, 1:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/simple-lessons-you-have-learned-and-they-have-stayed-with-you-all-your-life/775302/43 "2016-12-22T13:58:28Z")
Always refill the ice cube tray, you’ll love yourself later. ---
**Author:** ![Annie-Xmas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecc23a/32.png) [@Annie-Xmas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie-Xmas)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2016, 2:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/simple-lessons-you-have-learned-and-they-have-stayed-with-you-all-your-life/775302/44 "2016-12-22T14:29:20Z")
Everything that happens in your life can be useful, if you remember it at the appropriate time. Bad moments do not have to make for bad days. Any day you make someone laugh is not wasted. ---
**Author:** ![Clothahump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/51bf81/32.png) [@Clothahump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Clothahump)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2016, 3:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/simple-lessons-you-have-learned-and-they-have-stayed-with-you-all-your-life/775302/45 "2016-12-22T15:06:02Z")
Always tell the truth. Lying takes too much effort. You can annoy more people by telling the truth, because it’s not what they want to hear and they can’t refute it. Set SMART goals and continually monitor and adjust them. Today not possible…tomorrow possible. ---
**Author:** ![Annie-Xmas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecc23a/32.png) [@Annie-Xmas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie-Xmas)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2016, 3:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/simple-lessons-you-have-learned-and-they-have-stayed-with-you-all-your-life/775302/46 "2016-12-22T15:09:41Z")
Admit your mistakes. When you do, people are amazed and cannot say much more. People spend way too much time trying to justify stuff they did wrong. Pick you battles wisely. People also spend way too much time on trivial matters that don’t mean shit. ---
**Author:** ![Machine\_Elf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/82dd89/32.png) [@Machine\_Elf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Machine_Elf)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2016, 4:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/simple-lessons-you-have-learned-and-they-have-stayed-with-you-all-your-life/775302/47 "2016-12-22T16:03:15Z")
> [@Annie-Xmas](#): > > Admit your mistakes. When you do, people are amazed and cannot say much more. People spend way too much time trying to justify stuff they did wrong. Ah so, [The Asoh Defense.](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Japan_Airlines_Flight_2#The_.22Asoh_defense.22) ---
**Author:** ![ZonexandScout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zonexandscout/32/544_2.png) [@ZonexandScout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZonexandScout)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2016, 4:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/simple-lessons-you-have-learned-and-they-have-stayed-with-you-all-your-life/775302/48 "2016-12-22T16:57:03Z")
“Don’t live in the future.” I always thought that I would work until a certain age, retire to a nice house, and enjoy my life with my wife. There would be plenty of family time. Work hard now and you’ll be golden in the golden years. My wife died at age 44 of a brain tumor. My (current) wife’s husband died at age 46 of a brain tumor. Her parents and siblings all died before she retired. My father and his entire family passed before I retired. TL;DR: The time is NOW. Don’t put off big plans, travel, or family time until it’s more convenient or you can afford it. ---
**Author:** ![jbolty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/7c8e57/32.png) [@jbolty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jbolty)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2016, 4:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/simple-lessons-you-have-learned-and-they-have-stayed-with-you-all-your-life/775302/49 "2016-12-22T16:59:25Z")
from my dad: If you don’t have time to do it right, you will never find the time to do it over again. ---
**Author:** ![DCnDC](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dcndc/32/2842_2.png) [@DCnDC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DCnDC)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2016, 5:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/simple-lessons-you-have-learned-and-they-have-stayed-with-you-all-your-life/775302/50 "2016-12-22T17:00:15Z")
The question that’s gotten me off my ass ever since it was first said to me when I was like 10: “_What’s wrong with right now?_” “Don’t pass it by, pick it up.” These signs were everywhere when I worked for Safeway. If you’ve ever worked in retail you’re probably also familiar with them. I’ve carried this on at every other job I’ve ever had (which have not been retail) and my supervisors have always been impressed with the simple act of picking up a piece of trash and throwing it away when it wasn’t specifically my job to do so. ---
**Author:** ![dracoi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/90db22/32.png) [@dracoi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dracoi)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2016, 5:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/simple-lessons-you-have-learned-and-they-have-stayed-with-you-all-your-life/775302/51 "2016-12-22T17:34:59Z")
> [@Llama\_Llogophile](#): > > I’ve had a few acquaintances who made life harder on themselves by never being decisive. They’d stew and procrastinate a problem until something finally happened TO them, rather than them doing something about it. > > Observing this, a boss once advised me, “Make a decision. Make a good decision, make a bad decision. But don’t make no decision.” Along this line, I was once told “Good plans are better than bad plans, but any plan is better than no plan.” ---
**Author:** ![Lsura](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7993a0/32.png) [@Lsura](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lsura)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2016, 6:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/simple-lessons-you-have-learned-and-they-have-stayed-with-you-all-your-life/775302/52 "2016-12-22T18:30:53Z")
> [@DCnDC](#): > > “Don’t pass it by, pick it up.” These signs were everywhere when I worked for Safeway. If you’ve ever worked in retail you’re probably also familiar with them. I’ve carried this on at every other job I’ve ever had (which have not been retail) and my supervisors have always been impressed with the simple act of picking up a piece of trash and throwing it away when it wasn’t specifically my job to do so. I actually did this at a job interview once. The person who was giving me the tour of the building told people about it regularly until I left for a new job 3 years later, and I suspect may still be telling the story. I didn’t do it to impress her. I did it out of habit - something on the floor, pick it up and throw it away - but apparently it kind of blew her mind that a job candidate would do that. ---
**Author:** ![Catamount](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/catamount/32/2840_2.png) [@Catamount](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Catamount)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2016, 7:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/simple-lessons-you-have-learned-and-they-have-stayed-with-you-all-your-life/775302/53 "2016-12-22T19:17:01Z")
If you drop a knife, just let it fall. ---
**Author:** ![Doctor\_Jackson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/doctor_jackson/32/32_2.png) [@Doctor\_Jackson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Doctor_Jackson)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2016, 7:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/simple-lessons-you-have-learned-and-they-have-stayed-with-you-all-your-life/775302/54 "2016-12-22T19:55:10Z")
Delegation without follow up is counter productive. ---
**Author:** ![zoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zoid/32/336_2.png) [@zoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zoid)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2016, 8:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/simple-lessons-you-have-learned-and-they-have-stayed-with-you-all-your-life/775302/55 "2016-12-22T20:15:22Z")
Similar to what others have said - “Leave it better than you found it”, told to us by our scout leader referring to campsites but applies much wider. ---
**Author:** ![fstbk1968](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/3bc359/32.png) [@fstbk1968](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fstbk1968)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2016, 8:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/simple-lessons-you-have-learned-and-they-have-stayed-with-you-all-your-life/775302/56 "2016-12-22T20:42:28Z")
> [@Llama\_Llogophile](#): > > I’ve had a few acquaintances who made life harder on themselves by never being decisive. They’d stew and procrastinate a problem until something finally happened TO them, rather than them doing something about it. > > Observing this, a boss once advised me, “Make a decision. Make a good decision, make a bad decision. But don’t make no decision.” I’ve heard this one before and I must disagree. Is this the approach you’d like your doctor to take? “Sorry that your dead, I couldn’t decide what the problem was so I made a decision and unfortunately it was the wrong one” Make a good decision, if you can’t you don’t have enough information so gather more. ---
**Author:** ![Llama\_Llogophile](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/49beb7/32.png) [@Llama\_Llogophile](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Llama_Llogophile)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2016, 8:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/simple-lessons-you-have-learned-and-they-have-stayed-with-you-all-your-life/775302/57 "2016-12-22T20:56:29Z")
> [@fstbk1968](#): > > I’ve heard this one before and I must disagree. Is this the approach you’d like your doctor to take? “Sorry that your dead, I couldn’t decide what the problem was so I made a decision and unfortunately it was the wrong one” > > Make a good decision, if you can’t you don’t have enough information so gather more. No, this piece of advice is inviolable and should be applied in all situations indiscriminately without exception. It should in no way be taken as a very general guideline against the possibility of occasional indecisiveness. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Grrr](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/grrr/32/146_2.png) [@Grrr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grrr)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2016, 9:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/simple-lessons-you-have-learned-and-they-have-stayed-with-you-all-your-life/775302/58 "2016-12-22T21:15:05Z")
Best advice given to me by a supervisor:" If you never want to get laid off in this up and down industry, you don’t have to be the best, just be in the top 10%. Which is crazy easy to do." 25 years later, I’m still employed by the same company. And we’ve been through a LOT of layoffs. ---
**Author:** ![Annie-Xmas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecc23a/32.png) [@Annie-Xmas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie-Xmas)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2016, 9:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/simple-lessons-you-have-learned-and-they-have-stayed-with-you-all-your-life/775302/59 "2016-12-22T21:28:58Z")
Everybody’s life has problems all the time. You don’t know what other people have to deal with, and you don’t know what they have to deal with it. RUN YOUR OWN BOAT!!! I don’t know who told me this, but doing it yourself and taking responsibility for your own life will save you time and makes you a better person. A friend once told me that she decided to befriend me when she was told “You can learn a lot from her. She takes care of herself.” ---
**Author:** ![Sir\_T-Cups](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ed655f/32.png) [@Sir\_T-Cups](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sir_T-Cups)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2016, 9:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/simple-lessons-you-have-learned-and-they-have-stayed-with-you-all-your-life/775302/60 "2016-12-22T21:52:52Z")
I can’t think of a cute way of phrasing it, but basically it’s “work a little harder now to make it easier later on”. It’s taking the time to remove the old boxes of steaks from the shelf and put the new shipment underneath them, so that in a week’s time, when the steak shelf is empty, you just grab the top box and go. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/simple-lessons-you-have-learned-and-they-have-stayed-with-you-all-your-life/775302.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/simple-lessons-you-have-learned-and-they-have-stayed-with-you-all-your-life/775302.md?page=4)