My father visited me over the weekend. During those days he spent with me, I realized a few very important things. It’s a pity that you understand everything that my father tried to teach me about life only when it’s too late. I felt so ashamed for not comprehending it back then.
I remember how in my childhood, he earnestly tried to impart his knowledge and skills to me. He would say, ‘Look, this is how you fix a carburetor, and this tool can help you repair the kitchen faucet…’ Yet, all he received in response was my dismissive ‘Leave me alone, Dad! I don’t have time for this!’ And I wasn’t the only one acting this way during my school years, was I?
5 times when my father was right
You should always have a backup plan
I recall his words when he lost his job but had his own car repair shop, where he fixed cars for friends during his free time. That kept us afloat until he found a new job. Back then, I thought his work in the garage was something lowly and dirty. I believed I would never stoop so low. But I was wrong, it got even worse during the 2008 crisis and the COVID times.
Love is not just passion; it’s something entirely different
When my father used to bring up our family as an example of a successful one, I used to laugh. What is love, or rather, what is its absence, I understood at forty, when I divorced for the second time. When the passion fades, there’s nothing left but misunderstanding, animosity, and hatred. I would give anything to meet someone who just understands me and wants to build a family with me now. But they’ve all gotten married when I simply didn’t pay attention to them.
Don’t give yourself completely to work
When you’re 20, or even 30, it seems like you should be able to earn all the money in the world. But the more you give yourself to work, the more you burn out. When you’re young, it’s not as noticeable, but once you cross 35, you start to remember all those gastritis, blood pressure, and back pain issues. And that’s nothing compared to the missed time you didn’t get to spend with your children.
Your problems are challenges, not the end of the world
Things don’t always go as planned, and that’s okay. It’s important to learn from failures and keep moving forward. It’s a pity that you only realize this with experience. All the blame games, anger at circumstances, and the desire to set the whole world on fire ultimately achieve nothing. It’s just wasted time that could have been used to solve the problem faster.
You are who you truly are, not who you want to be seen as
The biggest problem for any man is that he spends his whole life trying to prove to himself and others that he’s not like that. It’s the most destructive trap. As a result, you become something between a ‘pathetic copy of someone else’ you’ll never be and losing the ‘wonderful guy’ you could have been. The sooner you realize this, the easier and happier your life will be.
