35 Life Lessons I Learned from My Father

With Fathers’ Day only days away, I couldn’t help to think about my father.  I only got to spend 11 Fathers’ Days with him, but during that short time, I learned a lot from him. So, I thought I would deviate from my normal blog posts to share this one in memory of my father.

My Father and Me when I was two.

Here are my top 35 life lessons:

1. Life Really is too Short – don’t waste time being angry and resentful.
2. Respect yourself – if you don’t, no one else will.
3. Don’t let anyone tell you can’t do something because they have a limited vision.
4. Treat everyone with respect – regardless of age, race, religion, colour, language, or social standing. Every human being deserves to be treated with respect.
5. Pets are members of the family – love them, protect them and treat them well.
6. Have values, morals and ethics.
7. Learn how to live according to your values, morals and ethics as everywhere you turn, they will be challenged.
8. When you see someone who needs help, stop and help them.
9. Don’t let fear hold you back.
10. While you can’t choose your family, they are the only family you have.  Be good to them – always.
11. Believe in something – anything, but believe in and feel good about it.
12. Don’t judge a book by its cover.  Sometimes things look far better than they really are.
13. Be truthful all the time, not just when it is convenient.
14. Think before you speak.
15. Learn to listen.
16. Always keep learning.
17. Laugh often.
18. Learn to laugh at yourself.
19. Never go to bed angry.
20. Respect your elders
21. Learn to make decisions.
22. Keep promises.
23. Forgive, but don’t forget.
24. Remember where you came from.
25. Be true, faithful and loving to your spouse.
26. Be on time.
27. If you are going to drive fast, be a good driver and have your car in good condition – always.
28. Protect those who can’t protect themselves.
29. Don’t be a know it all – those people are annoying.
30. When negotiating for anything, don’t let them know how badly you want it or how much you need it.
31. You don’t need to step on people to succeed, but remember people will want to step on you, just beware.
32. Be good at something, but have many skills.
33. Learn how to say no and stay the course.
34. Have fun.
35. And my favourite:  just because you are a girl, never let anyone hold you back.  You can be and do whatever you want to.

To all the Fathers, past, present and future, have a wonderful Fathers’ Day!

If you like this post, feel free to connect with me on Twitter:  @MacLeanHeather