If you took this rule literally as an adult, you'd never make friends, never network, and never get a job.
 
This rule made some sense when you were a 5-year-old and thought anyone offering a candy out of a van was just being neighborly.
 
But in adulthood, it's a social handicap disguised as wisdom.
 
The original rule was created with good intentions to keep children safe. It's shorthand for "don't trust random adults who might have creepy motives."
 
The truth is, everyone is a stranger before they're not.
 
The adult version of the rule would be:
 
"Don't be gullible, but be open."

1. Don't talk to strangers

Taking Risks, Selling an Idea, Bouncing Back from Failure, and Storming Projects.
They Don't Prepare You for Real-World Collaboration.
They Just Teach You to Silently Resent Freeloaders While Doing 90% of the Work.
The Truth: You Don't Need a 4.0 to Make Six Figures.
You Need Grit, Audacity, Wi-Fi, and a Mildly Unhinged Willingness to Email Strangers.

Here's What School Doesn't Grade You On.

Talking about trauma is a pretty common trend lately. Crying in public is also catching on. You can also explain, in vivid detail, how your dog has a gluten allergy.But ask someone how much they make and suddenly, the air gets thicker than the amount of student loan debt.

Talking Trauma

People say it's just not polite to present a valid argument  as if manners matter more than financial transparency. Meanwhile, half the population is drowning in debt while pretending everything is fine because they can't afford to look broke at brunch.

Financial Transparency

Everyone, regardless of ability or disability, has strengths and weaknesses. Know what yours are. ﻿Build on your strengths and find a way around your weaknesses. Our strength grows out of our weakness.

Let's look at some of the reasons why this is dumb.Age does not mean wisdom.Some people just got older, not smarter.We were raised with the idea that gray hair equals greatness.Some elders are wise and wonderful.And some are just loud with outdated opinions and a Bluetooth headset from 2004.Respect should be earned, not handed out.Blindly respecting someone just because they've been alive longer is like trusting a VHS tape for stock market advice - it doesn't track.You're allowed to set boundaries with elders.Disagree with elders.Do not invite Uncle "Back in My Day" to the group chat.

3. Respect Your Elders

The whole "money taboo" thing didn't just happen by accident. It was started mostly by people who had it. 
 
The logic goes like this: If nobody talks about money, then nobody knows what "fair" looks like. 
 
Employers, corporations, and generational wealth can continue operating in a magical fog of undercompensation and vague raises. 
 
You're not supposed to ask your co-workers what they earn because if you did, you'd probably find out you're doing the same job for 20% less.

The Whole Money Taboo

But what does all of this really mean? Please keep your pain invisible so it doesn't make others uncomfortable. Suppress your emotions and smile through the fire, bottle it up.Because one day, you'll explode - in a truly character-defining way. Possibly at a printer.The beliefs lie deep in industrial era logic and toxic resilience myths. Where productivity was king, vulnerability was weakness and having feelings meant you were either a child or stupid.Workers were told to endure impossible conditions in silence. Men were told that crying meant failure. Women were told that crying is right.

All in Complete Silence

But here's the kicker...

The world rewards confidence, but not if you say you have it. Athletes celebrate loudly, entrepreneurs pitch themselves as messianic disruptors, and social media influencers base their entire brand on not being humble, ever.

But as a regular human being, you're expected to downplay everything.

Won a competition? Oh, I just got lucky. Got promoted? It's all because of my amazing team. Saved a baby from a burning building? Just doing my part.

God forbid you say, "I am actually really good at what I do."

Now you're arrogant, a narcissist, probably a sociopath.

Confidence is Key

It can make you quieter about your pain, which means no one helps you, which means that cycle continues. This can lead to developing anxiety and a teeth grinding problem. Bbjjjjjndndkddnddjdjdjdjdjdjdjfjdjdjdjdjjddjjjdjdjdjjdjdjdjdjdjdjddjjdddjdjdjdjdjjddjjdjsjskskkskwjwjskskkskskskskkskskskskkskskskskkskdkdkdkdkdkkdkdkdkdkdkkdkdkkdkdkdkdkkdksk

The Truth No One Says Out Loud

No matter how hard you’ve worked how much you’ve learned to hoe much better you are than chad in accounting who microwaves fishYou must remain humble always forever until death and if you dare to say something like Yeah i crushed that presentation Or honestly im really good at this Society responds with the emotional equivalent of Whoa slow down there Kanye

7.Be humble

This rule makes no sense. It trains people to apologize for their strengths, pretend they don't know what they're doing, and smile modestly.Meanwhile, someone with half the talent takes the credit louder.So here's the truth:Be humble when it matters. don't be too humble to the point of being invisible.

Apologizing for Strengths

This gem has been passed down like a cursed family heirloom, wrapped in guilt, sealed with emotional repression, and lovingly endorsed by grandparents who think therapy is witchcraft.
 
At face value, it sounds noble and stoic. It's as if you're doing society a favor by gritting your teeth through:
 
1. Burnout 
2. Heartbreak 
3. Chronic stress 
4. Trauma

Cursed Gem

The people who build character by suffering quietly usually end up one of two ways.
1. Unshakably wise, emotionally detached, and secretly miserable.
2. Exploding at the sound of a pen clicking.
The solution: 
Suffer strategically.
Speak up when it matters, cry loudly if you must. That's how you build boundaries, not just character.

Character

Or else, you'll fail in life.
School teaches obedience; life rewards initiative, curiosity, and the ability to google faster than your boss can ask.
Grades measure how well you follow instructions, memorize facts, and suppress all original thoughts until it's safe to raise your hand.
But success is messy, chaotic, nonlinear, and usually starts with someone ignoring the rules entirely.

Get Good Grades

Let's be honest, no one has ever landed a job because they knew the Pythagorean Theorem on command.
However, they have gotten hired because they were relentlessly resourceful, had a portfolio, or could hold a conversation without sounding like a Google Form.

How to Land a Job

It is one of the most outdated, quietly harmful social rules still floating around like a passive ghost at Thanksgiving dinner.Don't talk about money is rude because one day we decided that discussing the thing everyone needs to survive is more inappropriate than.Literally talking about bowel movements, conspiracy theories, or your ex's breakup playlist.

5. Don't Talk Money

Here's the reality: the people who talk about money learn how to save it, grow it, and demand more of it.

The people who don't smile politely while signing contracts they barely understand and silently panic every time rent is due.

Start talking with friends, co-workers, mentors. Break the silence, shatter the shame. Because not talking about money is just code for staying uninformed, underpaid, and grateful for it.

Talking About Money

This mindset is the spiritual equivalent of drinking gasoline to beat someone in a race to the fire.We start hearing it early. Sports coaches shout it, movies dramatize it, and motivational posters stick it next to a picture of a bald eagle flying into a thunderstorm.It's branded into our skulls: lose shame, win glory. That's it.In school, it means grades.In work, it means money.In dating, it's confusing.In social media, it means followers, likes, and pretending your dog eats better than you.

Winning is Everything

So, everyone runs in different directions, convinced they’re not winning enough, fast enough, or loud enough. While slowly turning into burnt out husks with LinkedIn profiles. The the real kicker: People who obsess over winning often miss the bigger picture. They become so addicted to the scoreboard that they forget to ask the question, "Wait, what game am I even playing?"  And sometimes, the person who won destroyed their relationships, lost their sense of self, and now stares into the void while holding a trophy that doesn’t hug back.

The Importance of Winning

8 Life Rules That Are Actually Holding You Back | Think Again

You were told these rules would protect you.
Turns out, they just made you socially awkward, emotionally repressed, and weirdly afraid of pie before dinner.

In this video, we break down 8 popular “life lessons” you were taught as a kid that sound wise—but are actually outdated, misleading, or just straight-up nonsense. From “Don’t talk to strangers” to “Be humble all the time,” we expose the invisible scripts that are quietly sabotaging your adult life.

⚠️ If you’ve ever:

Smiled through burnout like a champ

Respected someone purely because they’re old and loud

Measured your worth by your GPA

Thought talking about money was rude
…then you need this.

Chapters:
0:00 - Rule #1: Don’t Talk to Strangers
1:36 - Rule #2: Suffer in Silence
3:09 - Rule #3: Respect Your Elders
4:11 - Rule #4: Get Good Grades or Fail in Life
5:18 - Rule #5: Don’t Talk About Money
6:48 - Rule #6: Winning is Everything
7:44 - Rule #7: Always Be Humble
8:57 - Rule #8: Save Dessert for Last

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Share this with that one friend who still thinks suffering builds character.
Comment your favorite fake life rule growing up 👇

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