do as i say, not as i do: the practice of inheritance
Every kid hates to hear it. We all did. It grates against our sense of fairness, our belief that everyone should have to play by the same rules. So it’s hard to put up with it when we hear our parents say one thing, and see them do another. What hypocrites! The sins our parents commit, the uncareful words they say, or the good they neglect to do—all of that can leave significant scars—sometimes deep wounds—that can affect us for the rest of our lives. It’s easy to resent your parents for their failures. At some point, most of us do. However, there’s a much healthier approach. Often you can learn more from your parent’s failures and mistakes than you can from their accomplishments and victories. Parents do some great things for us. But they also make some horrible mistakes. Think of it as an inheritance. It’s value depends on what you do with it. And everyone of us has to spend some time sorting out the jewels from the junk.
