Have you ever received words of wisdom from a parent or elder that you've learned to live by?

Townsend remembers his mother telling him that it's important to know himself, and to never lie to himself. Have you ever received words of wisdom from a parent or elder that you've learned to live by?

Sadly no. My parents encouraged me not to be a follower (if everyone else jumped of a bridge....) but there were no real moments of lasting wisdom. The things I remember more are funny-isn - when we complained about being bored we would get chores assigned to us, when we didn't want to do chores my father would act shocked and say that was why he had daughters (not so funny now I guess) etc. My kids have tons of inspiring mottos they live by, most found on Instagram!

My dad gave me the best piece of advice when I was younger and it’s helped me get along all my life. I made sure to pass it to my children and I hope they’ve taken it to heart. He told me to never take things personal. He said everyone is just trying to survive their own life and they really aren’t worrying about you.

Not really, but I have learned it is important to love and care for others.

So many. Sometimes the significance didn't become apparent until quite late!!!

I like the advice of Monicap's father. What I remember is when in my teen years, I must have been complaining about my body and my grandmother said to always remember people who truly have problems and are worse off than me. It reminds me not to be so selfish.

Don’t judge another until you’ve walked a mile in his/ her shoes. You never know what someone’s like is really like behind closed doors. High acceptance, low expectations. I have no control over other people, places & things, only my responses/ attitudes. Do the next right thing. People are products of time, place, family attitudes, education, etc. Don’t judge people of the distant past by the standards of today.

My father was a man of great faith and patience. When things were tough, he would say,”this, too, shall pass.”
It was true and very calming. It took me years to realize that the Biblical quote applied to good times, as well as, bad! I often reflect on his words during the daily ups and downs of life.

I learned work ethic from both of my parents. Neither of them graduated from high school yet they went on to be productive members of society. Timeliness and honesty were always very important. From my mother I learned to accept people for who they are, not to judge, but accept. My friends often wanted to be with her because she was good, kind and generous. She is my role model.

My father died when I was twelve. After that, it was just Mother and I. She passed many words of wisdom down to me. Some of those words I did not even realize were wise until I grew up and then I realized I was lucky to have them.

My parents stressed the value of education as well as the value of one's reputation - being known for honesty and reliability.