7 Eye-Opening Pearls Of Wisdom To Help You Gain A New Perspective

Adulthood: it’s famously hard. And while it’s easy to think that everyone has it figured out but you, that annoying adage that everyone’s just making it up as they go along is basically true. The reality is that most of us are just out here trying to do our best with what we know while we try to pick up new life lessons and words of wisdom to organize our lives better — and to continue to grow as people.

Recently, Reddit user u/SusanMAO posted a call on the website for “the most memorable piece of advice or wisdom that you've received in your life” in the r/AskReddit community, and users came through and offered a variety of legitimately memorable pieces of wisdom — from personal advice, to advice on how to make serious decisions, and how to enjoy life more.

While much of the advice might seem obvious, hearing them again is never a bad idea. Here are some snippets of memorable wisdom shared.

1. Ask Yourself Three Questions

“My mother taught me to ask myself these 3 questions every time I felt stuck in a rut,” r/Unholy-Error wrote. “What are you doing? What do you want? Is what you're doing going to get you what you want?” They explain that this advice has been “really helpful” in their life and has allowed them “to re-adjust & re-calibrate my behaviors to better align to my goals.”

It makes sense: clarifying questions in times of struggle can help us cut through the noise and figure out what we actually want — and how to get it — without making things overcomplicated. This advice can apply to relationships, jobs, and even parenting.

2. Solutions or Comfort?

For Reddit user u/gonebethebirds, the memorable piece of wisdom they have been left with has helped in their relationships with significant others. “If your partner is venting, first reply kindly with ‘Do you want solutions or comfort?’” they explain. “Pretty much guarantees a smooth conversation from there on out without miscommunications.”

This Redditor isn’t the only person who has touted this advice. A viral tweet earlier this year touched on the same advice, with more than 20,000 retweets.

3. Figure Out Your Patterns — So You Can Change Them

The advice that has always stuck with u/ kerrypartridge1601 is simple, but it’s timeless for a reason. “If it happens once, it’s an accident. If it happens twice, it’s a coincidence. If it happens three times, it’s a pattern,” they shared.

This advice can help you figure out how you want to be treated. Is someone overstepping your boundaries on accident? But it can also be helpful in figuring out your own behavioral patterns that you might want to change — what patterns do you need to break?

4. Play To Have Fun

Listen, listen. Everyone knows someone who describes themselves as overly competitive. It does not have to be you. Accessing the childlike spirit of just having fun — and occasionally losing at — makes fun, well, more fun.

As Redditor u/ Snowtwo put it: “It doesn't matter if you win or lose, what matters is that you played the game and had fun.” The Reddit user explained this theory further: "There's nothing wrong with wanting to be good at a game, but everything wrong with obsessing over the meta and the like. If the only thing that matters is 'winning,' then you've lost sight of why you're playing the game in the first place.”

5. Listening Will Get You Far

The top comment on the thread was simple, and it’s pretty clear why. Redditor u/waboobaleedoo kept it short and sweet: “You have two ears and one mouth for a reason. You should talk half as much as you listen.” That’s the type of advice that you read on a Snapple cap, maybe, but that doesn’t make it wrong. Being thoughtful, and listening and thinking before you speak will get you far.

6. The Grass Is Greener Where You Water It

Yeah, yeah. How annoying! But one poster’s pleasant play on the old adage that the grass is greener where you water it has a more active spin: “Tend to the garden you can touch,” one poster wrote. This type of advice is great for work-life balance, for relationships, as a balm against the chaos of life. After all, why worry about things out of your control? Focus on what’s in front of you. That’s all you can do.

7. Take Care Of Yourself

“There are 2 and they go hand in hand,” u/agbmom wrote. “You can't pour from an empty cup.” And before you think you need to go run a 5k or clean up before you can relax, the second piece of that Redditor’s advice should stop you: “Rest is not a reward or earned, rest is a fundamental part of being human.”

To read the full thread of advice, check out the Reddit community’s post.