Well, not all of it. Let me explain. Brett Farmiloe has neat post about the things our mothers told us and how they affect our adult lives. Some of the instructions, if they’ve stuck with you, serve as beacons of good behavior and great advice.
“Remember to say your please and thank yous.”
“Wash your hands.”
“You could have called.”
“Stop picking your nose.”
Challenge #11 of the Escape Plan is You’re Not The Boss of Me: Do something your parents would never let you as a child. Most parents want the best for their kids, and the rules they pass down to us reflect the culmination of best judgments based on their life experience. They’re designed to keep us safe, help us be successful, and prevent us from looking like a total buffoon. (Especially the nose-picking advice.)
But sometimes they’re wrong. Sometimes the advice they’ve passed along is broken or misguided. Sometimes Mom was just repeating the stuff her mom said. And sometimes it becomes a crutch, keeping us from achieving our full potential.
“What do you think, money grows on trees?”
(This conditions us to think that money is scarce.)
“Are you going out dressed like that?”
(This conditions us to seek the approval of others.)
“If you don’t have something nice to say, don’t say it at all.”
(This conditions us to keep the truth silent if we think it might offend someone.)
“Children should be seen and not heard.”
(This is a despicable statement uttered only by people with full-blown cases of Adultitis.)
The rules our moms gave us as children impact us our entire lives. The people who make a difference in the world — you know, the ones written up in history books — became comfortable with the idea of breaking the rules. It’s easy to rebel against the rules put forth by some faceless government, school board, or religious institution. What’s hard is breaking the rules ingrained in us by our parents.
But sometimes, in order to become all that God created you to be, you have to ignore what mom said and go your own way. Just don’t pick your nose while you do it. (At least in public.)
P.S. The photo above just so happens to be the son of Ree, aka Pioneer Woman. Check out her blog if you get a chance. It’s fabulous.
Haha, love this post.
Here is my secret: I haven’t told my parents I left the corporate job and building my own business. . .
I agree with your God comment. I say “My parents gave me birth. God gave me life.” Must choose my divine purpose over my parents’ satisfaction sometimes.
Pretty sneaky Akemi — best of luck to you!
“Always wear clean underwear in case you get into an accident”
Well, first of all, I”m all for curing Adultitis, but hey, I’m not gonna stop wearing clean underwear because I think mom was really right on this one! Frankly, I like to feel fresh. Unless I’m camping. And then there is the whole “going commando” aspect that I won’t get into ’cause I think this is a family blog.
But, I always wondered why “in case you get into an accident?” Because what’s probably the first thing you’re going to do in an accident? That’s right. So then you’re back to square one.
So while Mom is right about proper hygiene, I think the reasoning is a little off kilter, don’t you?
My thanks to Maria for the best laugh of my morning :)
My mother’s advice was to just ignore what wasn’t pleasant. In some cases, that’s okay, because now it’s hard to annoy me unless you’re actually trying to. But when I was bullied as a child and, umm, harassed as an adult, Not So Good. So I tell my kids to ignore what they can, but if that doesn’t fix it, ask for help and keep asking.
Maria — you knocked the ball out of the park with your observation. I guess your example proves that mom can be right on and a little off all at once!
Lynn — Good point. It’s a fine line between letting things roll off your back and standing up for yourself.
Is that the Pioneer Woman’s son picking his nose?!
You know Jen, it very well could be… but I’m not sure who the Pioneer Woman is.
I found the image online without a credit attached to it, but if you think that’s her son. I’d happily add a credit to the post!
Thanks!
I just emailed ya! Pioneer Woman is a popular blog and I just saw that pic of her son…the link in the email. ;)
Love your site!
Thanks for the heads up, Jen. I updated the post above with a link to her blog. Very cool!
Cool…didn’t want to be a pest, just noticed something familiar and thought it was funny! ;)
It’s easy ignoring MY mom, but the problem is…how can you get her to stop screaming?!
Wow! That’s quite the picture! Kids can get so picky!!