Fathers are supposed to be there for us, to guide us and raise us to be better than they could be. At least, that's the hope. Good dads, or individuals setting out to be "good dads," should do what they can to make sure their kids are given the tools to succeed in life.
These little bits of advice stick in our minds, sometimes long after the father who gifted them to us is gone.
Reddit user, walrus17, wanted to gain some fatherly wisdom when they asked:
Men of Reddit, what is the most important thing your father taught you?
Let's start with the basics, advice for every day living.
Start At The Base
"Treat everyone with a a baseline of respect and allow them to live how they wish as long as they aren't harming anyone else"
TheUnblinkingEye1001
"Reminds me of my grandfather. "Treat everyone you meet with consideration and respect, it is their right to take that away".
"Basically, be good to people, but if someone is a f-cking a--hole, you do not have to be good to them. They suck."
Kondrias
At Least Two Hours
"Get to the airport early, do your check ins early"
cantopay
"Asian dad version: Get to the airport so early your flight does not even appear on the screens yet."
tinii11
Pay Attention To The Little Things
'Aufpassen, passe auf'. I'm almost positive this is some pidgin-German but he said it translates to 'pay attention, attention pays'. Details have saved me more than once, so I guess it's pretty solid free advice."
armoredanus
Just Do Something About It
"To be relaxed and carefree, worrying about something will only make you worry more, do something about it or stop thinking about it"
couchstyle
What's most unfortunate is when the lesson you gain the most from comes after he passes on from this world. Hopefully, you were able to thank him before then.
Always Polish
"before my dad died he said to me one time."
"You have a heart of gold. no matter what happens, don't let that go. take a gold nugget for example, it's been in the earth soo long they need to polish it up and boom. a clean gold nugget. find that thing in life to always polish your heart of gold."
"after he died, I found hobbies, found a girlfriend, and too a extent, I keep my gold polished."
Drugged_Poptart
It Lingers In The Mind
"Stress can kill you at a relatively young age."
Watsonians
"Really? In which ways, may I ask?"
vsRushy
"He had a massive brain haemorrhage, which could have happened anyway, but we know he was stressed out in the days and weeks leading up to it. There's no way in my mind that it wasn't a significant factor in killing him at that time. He may have gone before much longer anyway, but to me the (self-imposed) stress he was under pushed him over the edge."
"Basically, it caused a rise in his blood pressure which I assume caused a clot to be dislodged. He was 54."
Watsonians
And then there's these, lessons you were never explicitly taught. These types of lessons are only gained through individual experiences.
A Sad Truth
"That just because someone is your father doesn't mean they have your best interest at heart."
blacktothebird
"My father taught me to be kind."
"It wasn't because he was kind."
LordAnubis10
It All Comes Around
"Some gems from my old man:"
- "Never get too high or too low. Good days will eventually turn bad and bad days will eventually turn good."
- "Integrity is the force from within that holds together. Don't ever lose it."
- "Don't start a fight. But if you have to ever hit someone, hit them so hard they never want to hit you again."
realpolitikcentrist
You Can Be Taught A Lot And Told Very Little
"Well, the only thing my alcoholic and short tempered father taught me was to never ever be like him."
FreshStartLiving
Never Let It Stop You From Being You
"My father was a miserable soul to be around with when I was growing up. He was hard of hearing, nearsighted, had a bad back. He kept complaining how he's stuck in a crappy job because of all his physical deficiencies. He always blamed others for his shortcomings and failures... including me. He set his bar extremely low eventually, never took risks (unless it's some get rich pyramid scheme), never had any adventures, just stayed home and watch TV/porn when he wasn't working."
"He taught me not to be like him. I try - maybe to a fault - to be positive, to be accuntable for my own actions, to see failure as a leanring experience, to try hard and take calcualted risks. To travel, to do activities. Although I have a bad back (hereditary?) I refuse that to stop me from doing something I enjoy or being productive. I also try really hard to make relatives feel loved, especially my wife, and to be there for others."
shaka_sulu
Good father or not, there's a lot we can learn from the men who raise us. Just make sure you're walking out into the world with the right set of lessons.
Want to "know" more?
Sign up for the Knowable newsletter here.
Never miss another big, odd, funny, or heartbreaking moment again.