In a world of endless information, it seems the best advice still comes from mum. A collection of answers on question-and-answer site Quora proves that mothers often have the simplest, most enduring wisdom.
Start-up lawyer Antone Johnson recalled his mother's phrase: "It's not all about you. Take a number and get in line." He explained that she taught him other people are just as important in their own life narratives as you are in yours. He added: "No literary critic is standing by to critique your life story scene-by-scene. Others are too busy being self-conscious themselves to pay much attention to your item of embarrassment or shame du jour."
Shannon Holman, who grew up before the internet, shared her parents' advice to "go look it up." She noted that her family had encyclopaedias, and she felt lucky that the world felt big enough for them to have a place, and wide enough that they weren't expected to know everything. She wrote: "It taught me that it was okay to ask questions and to not have all the answers, and that is the most valuable lesson I have ever learned."
Stephanie Vardavas said her mother advised her to observe how a person treats salesclerks, waiters and other service workers who cannot defend themselves. She wrote: "She was 100% correct, and I've never forgotten it. It is very useful in sorting people out."
Screenwriter Ken Miyamoto recalled his mother's words during a family argument: "Do you want to be right, or do you want a relationship?" He said he now returns to this advice because "there will be no relationship if you always seek to be right in life." Meanwhile, Michelle Roses told of her mother-in-law's advice before her wedding: "If a man can't make himself a sandwich, he should starve."
From humility to curiosity, empathy to compromise, these maternal maxims continue to resonate. As the Quora contributors demonstrate, mum really did know best.
