LIST 36 | List the things you have been told not to do.
I was one of the last in a generation of those told to be seen and not heard, as well as a number of other parenting beliefs that were detrimental to a whole cohort of (now) rebellious and overly permissive adults. I believe it was a big contributor to the idea that “I want what I want when I want it and I deserve it, so I will have it” attitude so pervasive in our world.
The list of my personal “nots” are endless, here are the highlights:
- Do not pursue my passion for tennis
- Do not be so sensitive
- Do not go to Ryerson for journalism
- Do not date anyone I ever dated for no reason provided
- Do not have the baby
- Do not invest in Apple, Microsoft or Amazon
- Do not marry him (perhaps I might have heeded this one!)
- Do not buy the house I want, buy the house my boss chose instead
- Do not have another baby, or the third, or the fourth
- Do not trust your instincts
- Do not go back to work
- Do not cry
- Do not force them for the tests
- Do not divorce him
- Do not write the book you have in your heart
- Do not invest in Tesla
- Do not live with him
- Do not love him with your whole heart
Sometimes the do not directive came from a parent, sometimes a friend or family member, an expert of some kind. Sometimes the do not directive came from me.
