When was the last time you thought about what your mother taught you as a child? These five lessons are a blast from the past and a reminder of how lessons from childhood translate into the world of adults.
1. Put your best foot forward
This is an age-old notion that mothers, grandmothers, great-grandmothers and other role models in our lives have impressed upon us for as long as we can remember.
When we put our best food forward, we do the best we can in any given task whether it’s work, friendship, relationships, a creative project or going to the grocery store to pick up eggs and milk.
In today’s world, so much is run by technology and our inward facing lives that it can be easy to forget that doing our best is just as important as doing the thing in itself.
If we do it right the first time, as best we can, we are less likely to suffer disappointment, self-doubt and failure because we know that we did put our best foot forward, and all we can do from there is learn and progress. That is a powerful position to be in.
2. 30-Second Check
Have you ever left anything behind, then went to look for it a little while later only to discover that it is gone and you can’t remember where you left it?
Then, your mother’s voice pops into your head asking, “Did you do your 30-second check?” You kick yourself because no, you didn’t do that easy and silly sounding double check, and the one time you didn’t do it, you left something behind.
This little trick to make sure you have all your belongings also translates beautifully into real life. When a situation comes up, or a decision needs to be made, you can do the 30-second check: check in with yourself before you move ahead.
This is an incredible lesson on self-awareness—learning to check in, listen, answer and look around before we move ahead or do anything outside of our normal routine is a lesson we could all benefit from now and then.
Self-awareness is the single most important thing in a world bombarded by other peoples’ awareness influencing our own. We need to remember to check in with ourselves. If we can do that, we stand to live a safer, happier and more fulfilling life.
3. Brush your teeth and wash your face!
I realize we aren’t six years old, and we know how to keep up basic hygiene practices, but have you considered that there might be more to it than that?
When we’re young, we are ruled by morning and nighttime routines. Each family has different routines, but there are some basics that seem to exist in most families such as brushing your teeth and washing your face before going to bed.
As we grow up, we become more independent and establish our own set of routines. I certainly hope that we are all still washing our faces and brushing our teeth, but what other routines have we decided to continue or forgo?
Studies suggest that the installation and practice of routines has positive benefits on our mental and emotional fitness. The busier and more unpredictable our world gets, the more important such ordinary and obvious routines are.
Listen to your mother, brush your teeth and wash your face, among other things, and your days will be easier and smoother!
4. Keep your room clean
Keeping a clean and orderly living environment is key to decluttering and organizing your life. If we start in the place where we begin and end our days—our bedrooms—making sure that they are generally a decent space to be in, we will then, by habit, start to translate our clean habits into other areas of our lives.
Getting back to the basics, like having a clean room, can help us remember that when life gets difficult, or seems to be completely out of our control, we can do something about it. We can take baby steps and control the little things.
It may have been true that our mothers wanted us to have clean rooms because they couldn’t stand that their children may be a slob, but when they insisted on basic space hygiene, our mothers were setting us up to practice behaviors that might really help us when we get older and have to clean up some real life messes in the future.
Start small—clean your room and you might find that you are completely capable of handling the bigger things, too.
5. Get smart
I was always told, “It’s only easy once you know how to do it, and you only know how to do it when you educate yourself.” Most of us have the privilege of attending school in our youth.
If we take advantage of that schooling, do the best we can, push as hard as we can and learn as much as we can while we are there, its possible that we could find ourselves getting an even higher education.
With an education, our world expands, our minds develop, and our perspectives become more dynamic. Once we start on the path of growth through education, we become free—our world opens up to us and the possibilities multiply.
What lessons has your mother taught you? Let us know!
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