Skip to content
Search AI Powered

Latest Stories

Unwritten Rules About Life Everyone Should Know

Woman holding sign that reads, "Kindness. Pass It On."
Photo by Mei-Ling Mirow on Unsplash
Make us preferred on Google

No one's life is going to be perfect, and we cannot be happy 100% of the time.

But there are things we can do to make our lives, and others', better, and those things are not necessarily all that complicated.


Redditor shadow_2116 asked:

"What are some unwritten life rules everyone must know?"

Stay Humble

"If you don't understand something someone is telling you, say so instead of pulling an 'opinion' on the topic out of your a**. There is no shame in not knowing or understanding something."

"Refusing to admit you don't know and by extension refusing to learn something new because your ego is hurt is gravely misguided, however."

- devilish-WiFi

Stop Comparing

"In the song 'Grand Illusion' by Styx, there is a line: 'Don’t be fooled by the radio, tv, or the magazine. Shows you photographs of how your life should be, compared to someone else’s fantasy.'"

"So, I guess, the idea that you might not feel like you're living your best life when you compare it with what you're told is supposed to be your best life."

" Also along this line, 'Don’t compare your day-to-day life to someone else’s highlights.' Like, don’t compare your life to what bits you see of someone on social media."

- Reddit

A Golden Rule for Kids

"If a toddler hands you a toy phone, you answer it."

- IRErover

"Family" Isn't a Reason

"Just because someone is family, doesn't mean they're a good person."

"It's so wild how people call you a bad person for avoiding your family despite knowing nothing about their family."

"Like, 'It doesn't matter what they did, you were in the wrong because they're family,' makes zero sense to me, but other people look at me like I'm the lost one.

- Lo-Fi_Kuzco

Avoid Gossip

"Not everybody is your friend, so be careful who you vent to. Many people only want juicy gossip and don’t give a s**t about you or your problems."

"A good sign of this is when your friend brings you dirt or juicy stuff about someone else that likely was said in confidence or probably shouldn't have been communicated out."

"If they do that, your info is equally being dished out."

"Putting folks on informational diets is the way to go until you gain a supreme level of mutual trust."

- OneObi

Exceed Expectations

"Under promise and over deliver. People will think you are a genius."

- ballistic-jelly

Don't Ask the Question You Don't Want the Answer To

"Don’t ask for somebody else’s opinion and get mad when they tell it to you."

- CatacombsRave

Compliments Make a Difference

"It never hurts to compliment somebody on the quality of their work, their hobbies, and whatever field are most important to their self-esteem. It always goes a long way."

- High-Time-Cymbaline

Friendship Reality Check

"Your best friend may not consider you to be their best friend."

- swatguy06

Be Able to Walk Away

"Never let anyone take or disturb your peace. Learn to walk away from toxic people!"

- SwissCake_98

No Sudden Reactions

"Your feelings are valid, but your reactions may not be."

"If you ever find yourself feeling very angry at somebody, and want to give them a piece of your mind either over text, email, or phone, listen to this advice. It’s some of the best I have ever learned."

"Write down what you would want to say first, either in a word document or email or whatever, save it, but DO NOT send it. Then, wait at least 12 hours or overnight and revisit what you wrote."

"After having a cool-off period and some time to gain some clarity, 90% of the time you would have regretted having sent the original message and are usually in a much better place to respond so as to not burn any bridges that you meant to keep."

"I’ve always heard of this as having 'restraint of pen and tongue' and is one of the clearest signs of maturity."

- Googleclimber

Elevator Etiquette

"Before you enter and elevator, LET OTHER PEOPLE OUT FIRST, GODD**NIT!"

- IcyHotRyan

Don't Make It Worse

"If someone does something unintentionally embarrassing or awkward, you pretend it didn't happen, and if they look at you, you just smile and look away."

- WolfThick

A Few Golden Tips

"Admit when you've done something wrong."

"Trust your gut."

"Nobody thinks as much about you as yourself."

"Be kind. Don't be an a**hole."

"If you need help and it is available, ask for it, take it."

"Just because you apologize doesn't mean the other party has to forgive and forget."

- _space_platypus_

The Best of Times and the Worst of Times

"Life actually sucks a lot of the time. If you expect to be happy all the time, you will be sorely disappointed and lost. Instead, work up resilience to the hard times and take your time to enjoy the good times."

"It can take so long to learn this, because no one really talks about it, and for some weird reason the only accepted default state is 'happy.'"

"Another factor is how that's basically what you are until 15 years old. Until your basic reptile adult 'survival responsibility' kicks in, we're oblivious and happy most of the time. Then suddenly, the baseline changes, and almost no one is prepared for it, and the only reasonable conclusion is that you're mentally ill and depressed."

"That's why I take every opportunity I get to talk about how much life sucks so that people can enjoy it more with less fantastical expectations, lol (laughing out loud)."

- manofredgables

There are so many good pieces of advice here, but perhaps the most wonderful thing is that it doesn't take a lot to make someone's day a little better, including your own.

More from Trending/best-of-reddit

George Conway; Laura Loomer
Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty Images for CNN; Brandon Bell/Getty Images

George Conway Epically Trolls Laura Loomer After She Claims New York DMV's Credit Card Machine Displayed 'Palestinian Flag'

Conspiracy theorist and acolyte of MAGA Republican President Donald Trump Laura Loomer drew widespread ridicule over her latest outrageous claim. Lawyer and ex-husband of Trump staffer Kellyanne Conway turned anti-Trump activist George Conway lead the charge on calling Loomer out on her latest nonsense.

On October 7, Loomer shared a photo on X that was allegedly taken at a Department of Motor Vehicles office in New York City. The MAGA influencer also tagged NYC's progressive Democratic Socialist Mayor Zohran Mamdani's personal X account.

Keep Reading Show less
Susan Collins
Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images

Susan Collins Dragged After GOP PAC Boosts Her Campaign In The Wrong Portland

On July 4, 1786, the city of Portland, Maine, was officially founded with its newly-minted name. Almost 60 years later in 1845, Maineiac Francis Pettygrove won a coin toss against Asa Lovejoy and named their soon-to-be incorporated city in Oregon Portland after the largest city in his home state of Maine.

Since then, Portland, Oregon, has swelled to a city of approximately 675,000 people while its namesake boasts a population of just 70,000. In 2026, when people hear Portland, they think of Oregon instead of the original city in Maine.

Keep Reading Show less
Screenshot of Whitey Taylor
CNN

CNN Just Visited A Struggling MAGA Store—And It Spells Bad News For Trump

CNN correspondent Elle Reeve returned to Whitey Taylor's Trump Town USA in Boones Mill, Virginia, for the first time since visiting in 2023, and her segment shows that business for the Donald Trump-themed shop has collapsed as more MAGA followers break away from the president.

Reeve, in a segment for Anderson Cooper 360, reported that "things aren't what they used to be" for the store. She spoke with Taylor, who revealed that the store, which used to make $12,000 to $15,000 in sales per day now only makes between $1,500 - $2,000 per day. On occasion, Taylor will hit $3,000 in sales if he's lucky.

Keep Reading Show less
Pete Hegseth
Alex Wroblewski / AFP via Getty Images

Pete Hegseth Roasted After Video Of Him Trying And Failing To Keep Up With Marines Goes Viral

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth was widely mocked after he was shown struggling to keep up with Marines while running around a track during a recent training.

In a C-SPAN video shared by FactPost on X, Hegseth is shown lagging beyond the pack as Marines jog around a track in San Diego.

Keep Reading Show less
Vice President JD Vance speaks during a Washington, D.C., press conference on American jobs and visa fraud.
C-SPAN

JD Vance Blasted After Sharing His Absolutely Mind-Numbing Definition Of 'Socialism'

According to Merriam-Webster, socialism broadly refers to economic and political systems centered on collective or government ownership and control of the means of production.

Not exactly a concept requiring a Ph.D. to explain. One would think Vice President JD Vance, a Yale Law School graduate whose party practically uses the word as punctuation, could manage a working definition.

Keep Reading Show less