It's all very well heeding life advice from 30-year-old CEOs and so-called "girlbosses" but how much life experience do these people really have on us? They may have nailed their morning routine and know how to create a successful brand, but when it comes to the things that really matter? You're better off seeking advice closer to home: from your grandparents, if you’re lucky enough to have them.
They may have grown up in a different era and not be au fait with our world of hashtags and wokeness, but there's literally no one with more life experience than the elderly generation – and we'll take all the advice we can get. When a former palliative care nurse wrote about her dying patients' biggest regrets back in 2012, the nuggets of wisdom went viral for their resonance – stop working so hard, stay true to yourself and nurture your closest relationships were just some of the take-homes.
But we shouldn't have to wait until our elders are at the end of their lives to have a heart-to-heart and draw out their most valuable life wisdom, so we asked our grandparents for theirs.
"My grandpa said that the hours you sleep before midnight count double. Look after the things you only have one of – so don’t worry too much about an injury to an arm or a leg, you have two – and always carry a handkerchief.”
"My granny is dead and was a horrific snob but she told my mum and me never to go to the airport looking a mess – makeup on and hair done at all times – because you never know who you might meet. This is something I've always strived for but never achieved."
"My granddad would make a speech at any opportunity he could but he'd always finish it in the same way, with two Latin phrases which he instilled in the whole family and which we've never forgotten: 'sic vita vitalis' (thus is life liveable/worth living) and 'nil desperandum carborundum illegitimi' (don't let the bastards grind you down)."
"When I lived with my grandma and would come home faffing about one thing or another, she'd say, 'Woman, don't fret yourself,' and these four sweet words, in her thick West Indian accent, followed by 'Have a rum and Coke!' would calm me no end. She's a firm believer in aggro being a self-fulfilling prophecy and always reminds me that I'm in control of how I feel about things. If you just let it be okay, it is okay! Coming back to this mentality with a cool glass of rum and Coke is the best way to deal with stress.
"Also, 'Be honest with yourself' is another classic that has helped me on the road to acceptance many, many times. This advice would usually come from her in a rocking chair with a rum and Coke in hand."
"Never trust men with beards. My gran is very wise."
"My grandmother Didee, who died last year at age 92, was renowned for telling anyone under 60: ‘Don’t get old’. This is the grandmother who questioned the paternity of my sister's unborn baby, who she was having with her boyfriend of four years, as she’d ‘had so many’. My sister reminded Didee she’d only ever had three boyfriends and Didee replied, ‘Well, that’s a quarter of a dozen.’ My parents were horrified when I included this story in my speech at Didee’s funeral…"
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