r/AskReddit • u/RealMomSteps • 1d ago
What’s a random thing someone told you once that stuck with you for years?
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u/Victor-Grimm 1d ago
Perfection is an illusion and anyone who says otherwise is a fool.
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u/Vinny_Lam 1d ago
I’ve heard a similar one.
“If you’re looking for perfection, you’ll be looking forever.”
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u/Ok_Possession4223 1d ago
You’re allowed to make mistakes.
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u/Hopeful__Engineer 1d ago
Nobody teaches us how to make peace with ourselves after the mistakes
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u/Ok_Possession4223 1d ago
You know, that’s damn true. I’ll be thinking about that for a long time now too.
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u/Hopeful__Engineer 1d ago
I still think and regret about mistakes that happened knowingly or unknowingly.
It’s very easy to tell someone that the mistakes you do makes you stronger but very difficult to implement when it comes to us.
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u/Roadside_Prophet 1d ago
Mistakes are only apparent in hindsight. If you made the best decision you could have at the time, with the information you had, then it wasn't a mistake. You can make all the right choices and still not get the results you want.
If there was a part of you telling you not to make that choice, and you didn't listen to it and did anyway, your only mistake was not trusting yourself. Take it as a lesson to listen to your feelings.
Worrying about the choices you didn't make is a waste of time and energy. There's thousands of choices you didn't make each day. Millions over the course of your life.
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u/MrsKaich 1d ago
My 8 year old says “it’s ok, everyone makes mistakes.” Like it’s no big deal and shrugs it off. I used to get defensive like, “no I didn’t…” but then I think, “ope, sure did!”
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u/Naked-Nectar 1d ago
Parents should be better about letting kids make mistakes and giving appropriate grace
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u/Adventurous-Peak-853 1d ago
Had a friend say to me after sitting in my basement playing some casual cards, "ya know, you and I could sit in a room for hours and not say a word or even acknowledge each other. And it would be time well spent, I think that's what a true friendship is"
This guy was not well known for poetry so this came as a shock. I nodded and we kept playing.
This stuck with me.
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u/GinjaNinger 1d ago
A friend of mine said something similar, but in regards to romantic relationships. Along the lines of being comfortable enough with your SO to not force a conversation
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u/MariChat88 1d ago
Someone told me that I have beautiful eyes.
For context, I have brown eyes and no one ever said that before, and no one has said it since. I feel like people with green or blue eyes get complimented all the time. I know it's silly and such a minor thing, but it really stuck with me.
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u/DocVolliday 1d ago
Same here. I had a girl tell me the same thing in 7th grade and it’s stuck with me all these years later.
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u/macthefire 1d ago
As someone with Blue eyes. It's the ONLY compliment I've ever recieved about my appearance. Twice in 40 years.
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u/foo_bar_qaz 1d ago
I have blue eyes and have never been told they're beautiful. Just in case you think everybody with blue eyes gets that compliment.
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u/ToxicAssh0le 1d ago
I'm a man, so I rarely get compliments. But I have blueish green eyes and that's what I get complimented on the most, lol.
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u/LeftSky828 1d ago
I absolutely love brown eyes. Too many people with brown eyes think their eyes aren’t attractive.
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u/insaiyan17 1d ago
Come to my country. Here it is rare to see ppl with brown eyes so we adore them
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u/69LadBoi 1d ago
That is awesome! If I must say, personally brown eyes are the best. Often times it looks like stars have been caught in them. So beautiful
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u/number7child 1d ago
I have brown eyes with green flecks in them and somebody once killed me they look like fly eyes
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u/Goodygumdops 1d ago
Don’t set yourself on fire to keep someone else warm.
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u/Muff_in_the_Mule 1d ago
That's why I set others on fire to keep warm.
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u/UndercoverKitten177 1d ago
"Build a man a fire, he'll be warm for a day. Set a man on fire, he'll be warm for the rest of his life." Terry Pratchett.
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u/tinpants44 1d ago
I heard that recently and love it in the context of people pleasing.
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u/Uncle_Bug_Music 1d ago edited 1d ago
40 years ago I was a drummer in a touring band. After one show a guy came up to me and said, "Wow, you're a really busy drummer." I said, "Thanks!"
Two years later, I was walking down the street and not unlike Homer Simpson, I realized it was not a compliment, and my knees buckled. I went and listened to some old tapes, and one particularly egregious example was a drum fill I did, in the middle of a ballad, that sounded like Neil Peart throwing his drums down a flight of stairs.
It took two years, and some self awareness, but that random stranger made me a much better musician.
Edit: For those who aren't sure what "busy drummer" means, it's a drummer who overplays, gets fancy when simple is required, plays for themself instead of serving the music, to satisfy boredom/ADHD etc.
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u/Laytchie 1d ago
How great that you 'got it' when you were ready to receive it.
Neil Peart was a legend!
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u/Uncle_Bug_Music 1d ago
He really was! He cared about the instrument, was also a phenomenal lyricist, and was a true master of his craft.
As for me, you're 100% correct. I wasn't ready to face the music and glad the message finally got through to my ego!
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u/SatinSplash 1d ago
I cringe a bit when people say “Ringo Starr was such a bad drummer!” Like, no, his playing was simple sure, but it was perfect for the kind of music the Beatles were making.
Ringo Starr would not have fit in Rush, but Neil Peart wouldn’t have fit in the Beatles, either. It’s all about playing for the music.
Reminds me of when Les Claypool of Primus tried out to be the new Metallica bassist after Cliff Burton passed, and they were basically like “nah man, you’re too good for us” haha
Anyway random rant over, glad you heeded that stranger’s advice!
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u/Uncle_Bug_Music 1d ago
Ringo Starr is an interesting study in drumming as during his formative years, he wasn't listening to straight 8th rock music, as the original rock music of the 50s was primarily all shuffle/triplet/swing based or a hybrid of straight 8ths hi-hat over swung 8ths in accompaniment ala Jailhouse Rock style.
So he was kind of on the ground floor to create this new rock feel with fills, grooves etc. It's easy for people (not you!) to look back and say "He was a simple rock drummer!" but it's not like he was stealing all of his stuff from other players; he was creating it for other drummers to steal, perfect, hone & evolve and then have musicians complain that he wasn't fancy enough.
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u/Round_Intern_7353 1d ago
I'm a drummer too. Best advice I ever received was "It's not about being the best or fastest drummer. It's about being the RIGHT drummer. He used In My Life by The Beatles as an example. It's about the easiest beat possible, but it's the perfect one for that song.
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u/seabrz_og 1d ago
Someone once told me, when in doubt, do nothing. Really helps if I have to make a decision. And it's proven true.
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u/CurrentBarber3618 1d ago
In skydiving, the old saying is, “if in doubt, whip it out”.
If one has any bad feeling about how their main canopy is packed, it’s better to get it out and repack it before jumping, than have their worse fears come true.
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u/insaiyan17 1d ago
What if ure like me and doubt every decision u ever make? Just do nothing for ur entire life? :D
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u/seabrz_og 1d ago
Lol.... as I've gotten older, I've learned to talk about my decisions before I make them with my husband. That can help show me sometimes, buy if I still can't seem to decide, I take that as a sign that I should do neither.
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u/cat_lady_lisa 1d ago
My mom used to say a variation of this “when I doubt, do without”. Usually was said when we were shopping 🤣
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u/barrulus 1d ago
Better to be ten minutes late in this life than ten minutes early to the next…
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u/nanfanpancam 1d ago
My dad’s and now mine, 62F, if you aren’t 15 minutes early you’re 15 mins late. I use ten minutes. However doctors offices have now started asking patients to come closer to the appt time. We can’t we are old.
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u/Meaghantheescallion 1d ago
“Never make fun of someone’s smile or laugh, because that’s how they express joy.”
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u/habidasheryhabit 1d ago
You don't have to attend every argument you're invited to.
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u/Nightshader5877 1d ago
This kinda reminds me of what Keanu Reeves once said. "I'm at that stage in life where I stay out of discussions. Even if you say 1+1=5, you're right. Have fun."
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u/Sciekosis 1d ago
Practice makes progress not perfection. You will never be perfect at anything you do, there's always room for improvement.
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u/eagles-ringpiece 1d ago edited 1d ago
A random lady approached me outside my school when I was 9 and told me to go home immediately and tell my dad to get out from under the car immediately because something bad was about to happen.
I love my dad and ran home crying and he got out from under the car he was fixing to see why i was so upset. We went into the house and an out of control truck ploughed through out garden and into the car.
If my dad was under it he would have been dead.
I still think about her almost daily and that was near on 50 years ago.
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u/permabanned007 1d ago
Wow, if that doesn’t restore one’s faith in humanity I don’t know what would. What an angel, literally!
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u/pikcandy 1d ago
“The best time to plant a tree was 20 years ago, 2nd best time is now” Its really helped me work around being lazy and procrastinating, I cant really explain why though.
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u/WalkConsistent8831 1d ago
Be nice to the people who have access to your tooth brush
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u/big_d_usernametaken 1d ago
When my son was in college, one of his roommates did something to one of his other roomates, I dont remember what, and my son said that the wronged guy stuck the pranksters toothbrush up his butt and put it back.
Be nice to people indeed!
Lol.
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u/Last-Temporary-2877 1d ago
I’d rather be looking AT it than FOR it. Basically means it’s best to over prepare than under prepare
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u/HottieCupcake 1d ago
In middle school, my science teacher said 'If you're ever lost in a city, follow a cat. They always know where people are.' Used this trick when my phone died in Tokyo and honestly? That cat led me straight to a busy street.
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u/dropM_Henry 1d ago
My parents to gross teenaged me:
"If you can smell yourself a little bit, everyone else can smell you a lot"
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u/Feisty-Department444 1d ago
No problem is too great that you can't make it worse. -Fighter Pilot explaining how it's usually better to do something rather than nothing in an emergency.
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u/DoNotKnowItAll 1d ago
I had a jet pilot friend tell me "If power gets you into trouble, more power will get you out."
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u/Devybear93 1d ago
Overheard more than told, but "I want you not need you"
The person was talking to their partner and said that, and it just stuck, and its been my relationship (romantic and platonic) motto ever since which seems to be working great as my partner and I will be celebrating 10 years together this year.
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u/cosmicjellyfishx 1d ago
Some things can never be undone.
You only truly understand this if you've lived it, and then it terrifies you for the rest of your days.
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u/SquirrelyStu 1d ago
Just because you CAN, doesn’t mean you SHOULD.
Tell yourself it’s enough to know you could have done it.
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u/42stingray 1d ago
Nothing i was told directly, but when i worked with customer service at a warehouse, a customer came in looking for me in regards to an order i had ongoing with them. They couldn't see me since i was around a corner, but i could hear them ask one of my coworkers: "hey, i'm looking for the young handsome guy with the curls, do you know where i can find him?"
Gave me a long lasting boost in confidence to say the least
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u/disgruntledblonde 1d ago
Whenever a crazy coincidence happens or you have deja vu, it’s because you are exactly where you are meant to be. I find it extremely comforting, especially when I’m going through a tough time, it makes me feel like I’m still on the right track
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u/Marshmallowbutbetter 1d ago
Don’t have children until you’re absolutely ready - a 38yo couple with a baby. Heard that in my late 20s and it really decreased my anxiety of not being able to get pregnant later in life when I’d really want it.
I’m 41 and the time where I want it never came. Thank you random stranger for not making a huge life altering mistake.
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u/HistoricPreservating 1d ago
I went through puberty early. Mom told me to never go out again because men would "grab" me because I was "bing up top". She gave a lucid story about a woman in her neighborhood who was put in a mental institution because men gang gr*ped her and the "bit her breasts". Then she said, "But her boyfriend was a good man and married her anyway" She later told me that "men can't help themselves. They don't mean to hurt women".
Being ten years old, I was more afraid of the mental institution so I planned how to kill myself if it ever happened for years afterwards. I would never have told anyone anyway.
We both had depression/anxiety. 50+ years later, I live alone and trust very few people. I'm relieved she's dead. My mental health greatly improved when she became senile and couldn't remember that I was fat.
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u/Eiffel-Tower777 1d ago
Don't be with someone you can live with, be with a person you can't live without
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u/balloonz_v1 1d ago
Usually, the main comments or the derogatory things people have said to me. That will stick with me until I die. I can't get it out of my head.
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u/VenomBasilisk 1d ago
Screw them, internet stranger. You're fabulous. Go out and live your best life. You rock. Sincerely, Random person who genuinely means it.
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u/theshortlady 1d ago
Don't accept criticism from someone you wouldn't ask for advice.
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u/binglybleep 1d ago
A friend in high school once told me I was selfish. I think I was, I didn’t really have the experience or insight necessary at the time to not be a little asshat. Hurt to hear, but hopefully 20 years of trying not to be a little asshat has changed me for the better
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u/trynotobevil 1d ago
lots of people are just cruel and amuse themselves by hurting others
it's tough to keep your mental health in a good place. one of my strategies is watching comedies and cute animal vids. check out r/Awwww
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u/Gravysaurus08 1d ago
Same here. Destroyed my confidence and self esteem. Still building it back up.
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u/EntertainmentBorn394 1d ago
That she would be devastated if I died. I was highly suicidial at the time, and this helped so fucking much. Y’all, be nice to your friends. A random compliment might save their life.
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u/Longjumping_Wing_257 1d ago
The toes you step on today will be the ass you kiss tomorrow
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u/Old-Parking8765 1d ago
Good one, definitely forces you to keep the long game in mind before doing or saying anything stupid
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u/heather3113 1d ago
What would your actions look like in the front cover of the newspaper? (insert internet now)
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u/StandardBee6282 1d ago
In my first job there was an offer of overtime. I was umming and ahhing over whether to do it or not and some older bloke said “You never turn down work,lad.” Realised how right he was when wife, mortgage, kids etc came along. Now I’m at the other end of my working life the time off is more important than a few extra quid.
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u/big_d_usernametaken 1d ago
I chased the OT for decades, doing all the family stuff, plus I had plans for all the retirement stuff my wife and I were going to do, when she passed away suddenly.
Never worked any OT again, unless it was mandatory.
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u/StandardBee6282 1d ago
That’s a sad story, you never can know what’s around the corner unfortunately.
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u/hammer76 1d ago
The first time I had to fire someone, I felt bad, and my boss told me, "They fired themselves, you're just the messenger"
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u/VirgoPisces 1d ago
That I’m the kind of person that, when she finds herself backed into a corner, turns around and punches a hole in the wall.
It was a random co-worker, someone I never was particularly close to, and came at a time when I was unsure of a lot, young and scared that I might be more lost than I even thought. It reminded me that I’m a survivor, capable of anything and that I don’t ever have to be afraid I won’t find my way out of any predicament life offers me.
I don’t think they understood how much that helped and has helped in the years since, and god knows it hasn’t been easy. Thanks Joel, wherever you are ❤️
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u/Round_Intern_7353 1d ago
When someone shows you something (a song, show, art, whatever), never say you hate it or that it sucks. That thing is likely very important important to that person if they felt the need to share it with another. Plus, what you consider to be bad is often a masterpiece to someone else. If asked an opinion don't lie, but choose kinder words. Personally, I always say "that's not to my taste."
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u/Seated_WallFly 1d ago
Grandmother: “There’s no pockets in a shroud.” Mother: “You’re gonna have to work twice as hard and be twice as smart to be seen half as good.” Brother: “You’re so energetic: it’s scaring me.”
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u/Somewhere-Plane 1d ago
I worked with an older dude and respected him very much, he had the best one liners that stuck with me.
"Always have the right tool for the job." "Let sleeping dogs lie." Write everything important down, never trust a man who says he's got it all in his head."
I wish I had time to work with him more unfortunately.
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u/Space_Monkey_42 1d ago
I once fainted on the toilet as a kid and was brought to the hospital for dehydration due to food poisoning.
My father sneakily saw that as a great opportunity to tell me "you know... that is because you don't wash your hands before eating"... to his credit, it worked like a charm. Till this day I haven't met anyone who is quite as attentive about it as me.
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u/lennydsat62 1d ago
Red flags are just flags when you’re wearing rose coloured glasses
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u/xcoalminerscanaryx 1d ago
I can't put the image of the tweets abd this wasn't told directly to me, but it did stick with me-
Neil DeGrasse Tyson: "The Universe is blind to our sorrows and indifferent to our pains. Have a nice day!"
Norm McDonald: Neil, there is a logic flaw in your little aphorism that seems quite telling. Since you and I are part of the Universe, then we would also be indifferent and uncaring. Perhaps you forgot, Neil, that we are not superior to the Universe but merely a fraction of it. Nice day, indeed
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u/syeshe 1d ago
“Dont smile your teeth are ugly”
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u/Old-Parking8765 1d ago
My worst fear is someone thinking this, and I know they do, so I smile with my lips closed or barely open...hope to get braces one day because I want to be able to express all the joy!
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u/trynotobevil 1d ago
3 people can keep a secret...IF 2 OF THEM ARE DEAD
great advice from a wise coworker years ago. to this day if anyone from work starts a conversation with "this is confidential so you can't tell anyone" i immediately shut it down.
if they're telling ME they've told others and when it blows up i don't want to be a part of that bs
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u/bakerstreetrat 1d ago
I was lighting a cigarette at the train station when a much older man lighting his gave me a forewarning, almost sing-songy, "Quit now..."
It took a while after that, but I've been cigarette free for five years.
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u/Pitiful_Deer4909 1d ago
I asked My first ever "boyfriend" (we were 12. It was just things like holding hands at school, hogging the phone line at night so we could talk, kissing ect) what it was like to have a penis. I'll never forget the response, it was so nonchalant, informative, and funny. He said "it's okay I guess. Sometimes it gets stuck to my leg and that's annoying"
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u/Queasy-Chipmunk-8088 1d ago
Better to have and not need, than need and not have. That's why parents' pockets always bulge.
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u/gamerdudeNYC 1d ago
If you hang around shit you’re gonna stink.
Wrestling Coach said this in high school, if you hang around shitty people you’ll get into shit too.
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u/Adler221 1d ago
I have to be happy and content on my own before being happy and content with others.
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u/Daydlitch 1d ago
My exes saying " Let's be friends" ... when they are trying to say " is it really over?"
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u/HumpieDouglas 1d ago
Some lady pulled up next to me at the stop light, rolled down her window and yelled "Fuck you, you fucking asshole!" at me. Then she drove away. I had just been sitting there minding my own business waiting for the light. It was late at night on an empty road. I have no idea what her problem was.
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u/LonelyGoblins 1d ago
"Practice doesn't make perfect, perfect practice makes perfect"
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u/vegantac0s 1d ago
You don’t need to have a grand or cool job, just be the best at whatever you decide to do.
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u/UncleSmokeyJoe 1d ago
The first car in the intersection, after the light turns green, gets hit first.
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u/Nightshader5877 1d ago
I remembered a long time ago I was asking someone about alcohol. Forgot what it was exactly I asked about, but the response he gave was more important. "Something you should never start." And I took that advice to heart to this very day.
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u/Granny_knows_best 1d ago
I was pregnant with my first child and gained so much weight. I was walking out of Baskin Robbins with an ice cream cone and this old man opened the door for me and said, Do You Really Need That? It wasn't in a rude way, at least I did not take it as being rude, more concerning.
I still ask myself that, and it's prevented me from indulging so many times. This was 40 years ago, and I can still hear his voice.
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u/42stingray 1d ago
Nothing i was told directly, but when i worked with customer service at a warehouse, a customer came in looking for me in regards to an order i had ongoing with them. They couldn't see me since i was around a corner, but i could hear them ask one of my coworkers: "hey, i'm looking for the young handsome guy with the curls, do you know where i can find him?"
Gave me a long lasting boost in confidence to say the least
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u/RepresentativeUse244 1d ago
"There is more than one way to skin a cat." I took that to mean if you can't get something done right, try another way to go about it. That chick was so right. Plus, I have never skinned a cat, but I'm positive there is more than one way to get that done too. Lol
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u/Similar_Employer_212 1d ago
If anyone ever offers you a job with pluripotent stem cells, tell them to fuck off.
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u/Fit-Possible-9552 1d ago
If you rush through something important you have enough time to redo it because it's almost guaranteed you will make a mistake instead of doing it properly the first time
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u/VendaMel 1d ago
Either way, we do not come out of this life game alive. The inevitable of it all is death.
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u/RaijunsHammer 1d ago
Not years, but I heard something recently to the tune of “You create beauty and love from the chaotic fragments of your past” and its stuck with me recently.
Up to me to make the most of what I have, and not get sucked into the doom foretold mode.
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u/False-Definition15 1d ago
(When pulling out of a parking lot)
Brother: In life, you never reverse more than you need to.
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u/mandicapped 1d ago
I have sharp, slightly long k-9s (apparently it's common to file them down in girls???) Someone once told me "nice fangs".
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u/SugarInvestigator 1d ago
Don't ask your team to do work you're not prepared to do yourself.
The guy who said that the took his suit jacket off and started helping me move a bunch of old school crt monitors about
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u/Responsible-Roof2745 1d ago
Success does not come from what you do occasionally, but from what you do consistently
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u/whitemanwhocantjump 1d ago
Two come to mind:
1) Grip with your toes when walking on icy surfaces- Irv Blitzer in Cool Runnings.
2) There's no "I" in "Team," but there is one in "Scholarship." - My football coach in 2005.
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u/JeffreyNasty24 1d ago
Someone told me that they were able to stuff 18 Cadbury cream eggs up their arse, with the foil still on. Got to admit, the pure determination and focus made them taste soooo much better afterwards.
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u/Sarnick18 1d ago
In my first year teaching, I got two amazing tips
Make friends with IT and front desk they run the school not admin
This was near the end of the year and the AD was being walked out in hand cuffs. I asked what happened and another coach said, "There are two things you don't fuck with in education: kids and money"
I asked which one he fucked with.
His response, "God i hope it was money."
It was he stole 400,000 in two years
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u/SuNNY__AheR 1d ago
Fear is not evil. It tells you what your weakness is. And once you know your weakness, you can become stronger as well as kinder.
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u/AtmosphereLow8959 1d ago
Regarding raising children: "If they are old enough to do it, they are old enough to know not to do it." My grandmother was a smart lady.
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u/inspektor31 1d ago
All the colours of froot loops taste the same. (But we all know green sucks and orange is the best)
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u/Glamorous_Lady 1d ago
When I was waiting tables, this old man left me a $50 tip and said 'honey, never trust a man who's rude to service workers but sweet to you.' Saved me from dating quite a few jerks after that.