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36 Life-Changing Sentences People Heard Once That Now Live Rent-Free In Their Hearts
For Terminator 2: Judgment Day, Arnold Schwarzenegger, already an established movie superstar, earned $17 million, which, given his character's laconicism, translated into roughly $21,000 per word. That is, for just one of his iconic phrases, "Hasta la vista, baby," the actor earned way more than for the entire first Terminator movie.
However, the significance of wise, beautiful, or simply catchy phrases can sometimes be far more important to people than any amount of money. Simply because such a phrase can often truly change a person's life. As it happened, for example, with the heroes of this collection of stories.
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#1
When someone closed passed away, instead of the usual b******t like ‘they are i a better place now’, someone said: ‘they are worth every single tear’.
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#2
When people would ask my science teacher a question, he loved to respond to them with more questions. He would lead you through a series of answers, leading up to the answer to the question that you initially asked. Then he would say, “See how smart you are, you knew the answer the whole time.” I always loved Mr. Leonard for that.
There's a thread on AskReddit that was created a couple of months ago by the user u/Imaginary_Ride_6185, who asked netizens, "What's a single sentence someone said that stuck with you forever?" As it turns out, such situations happen quite often in people's lives, so the thread has become really popular.
As of today, the thread has over 6K upvotes and nearly 4K various comments. The stories range from touching to funny, from sad to moralizing, and discussions of these stories unfold. Sometimes it even reaches the point of revelation, as people from different parts of the world were touched by roughly the same phrase.
#4
When I was learning how to drive some 35 years ago, an adult friend told me the most important thing was, "Always expect everyone else to do something stupid."
True to this day. Never forgot it.
Jumping Jellyfishes 2 months ago
I actually made this comment to someone yesterday- driving for me anymore is avoiding getting hit by other cars. Daily.
#5
When my dad was diagnosed with a terminal illness, everyone just kept saying everything would be okay. I had a customer at the time say with an online sale when we were chatting:
“Tough days ahead”
It was so simple but he was the only person who was honest with me. Everyone else was lying/trying to protect my feelings.
#6
I had a therapist tell me once “when you start to get healthy, people will start to get angry.” Mind blowing 🤯 truth right there! The minute I started setting healthy boundaries in my life the worst offenders, my family, got madddddd! But my life is better for it so thank you Rhonda!
ॐBoyGanesh 2 months ago
The more people who are angry with you for no apparent action on your part, the better you’re doing at demanding your boundaries be respected.
It so happens that many of the phrases you'll read or hear here are somehow related to death or some serious illness. This is not surprising, as anyone faced with the inevitable begins to think differently, reconsiders their own life, and perceives everything around them from a completely new angle.
And along with them, we rethink the meaning of words, too. For example, as in one of the stories told here, a pre-med student automatically said to a terminally ill patient the "standard" words that they understood their suffering - only to receive a gentle but firm answer: "No, you don't understand..."
So it's at this very moment that you involuntarily begin to reflect on the frailty of existence, and how far all our words, so beautiful and so empty, are from the truth in the face of the inevitable end. It's frightening, but it also makes us - even if only briefly - become more human.
#7
“He’s not there.” My husband said this to me gently when I couldn’t leave my father’s casket. I will always remember that he’s not there, he’s in my heart and will be forever.
LizzieBoredom 2 months ago
I like to think my Dad gave the atoms he was borrowing back to the Universe, and now my Dad is everywhere.
#8
“ no one thinks about you as much as you do”
Sounds in text very rude but in context it was very loving. Genuinely changed my perspective on myself.
No one analyzes your actions and words and looks like we do to ourselves. No one thinks about the small things you don’t like, the embarrassing moments that keep you awake or the outfit malfunctions. You’re not that important. Thank god.
That means you aren’t that bad.
I’ve gained so much self love from thinking this way.
ॐBoyGanesh 2 months ago
“You’re insignificant. A small piece; an ‘ism.’ No more, no less.” Also: “Your opinion of me is none of my business.”
#9
"The opposite of love is not hate but to be ignored." This will sit with me forever.
ॐBoyGanesh 2 months ago
The opposite of any kind & caring emotion is apathy. At least that’s my experience.
A separate category of stories from our collection contains motivational phrases that, in one way or another, encourage people to overcome life's various difficulties. But almost every motivational phrase is actually based either on completely empty "generalities" or on the speaker's personal experience - and this experience can be completely irrelevant.
My favorite example is Thomas Edison and his classic phrase: "Genius is 1% inspiration and 99% perspiration." A formula that, by and large, worked perfectly for only one person - Edison himself.
The fact is that the great inventor lacked theoretical education, which he always compensated for with numerous experiments and an absolutely superhuman work ethic and stamina. Competitors joked that just a year at university would’ve replaced Edison's decade of failed experiments - but then he wouldn't be Edison, right?
#10
"You're smarter than everyone here. You shouldn't be working in a factory. Go to school, keep your head down and learn something."
Told to me by a factory collegue when I broke down from packing sausages the entire day when I was 16.
#11
‘No you don’t understand’. I was a pre-med college student and volunteering at a hospital. A chronically ill patient was telling me about their pain and reflexively I said ‘I understand’. He said ‘no you really don’t’. That struck me and I’ve never said it again in all 10 years I’ve been in medicine. Now I say ‘I really can’t understand, but I want to help as best I can’.
Joe Publique 2 months ago
Not just in medicine. You can never fully understand anything a person is going through, so "I can't pretend to know how you feel, but I can help/listen etc" is always a better response.
#12
My mom has Alzheimer’s and right before she lost the ability to speak she said with complete lucidity one day “you know, I’m not sure what’s going to happen but I’m not afraid.” I think about this every day.
Humanity has wielded words for many thousands of years, and they’re truly one of the most powerful tools we've ever had. Words can be a weapon, and they can be a shield. They can lift you to the skies, or they can bring you crashing down to earth. Many people underestimate the power of words - and completely in vain.
"Our words carry enormous weight. More than we sometimes think," says Michael S. Hyatt, a famous speaker, podcaster, and the author of books about leadership. "They often impact people for decades, providing either the courage to press on or one more reason to give up." By the way, here's another wise quote for you, in addition to those you've already read here.
#13
"Just cos the person you're with is the right person for you doesn't mean you're the right person for them" 🤯.
Michael Largey 2 months ago
And just because you're the right person for them, that creates no obligation on you.
#14
Not a sentence but a sound. The day I graduated from college. My dad cheered the loudest in the room. Still makes me beam years later.
#15
I’m a mom of three young children. Going out by myself, I hear “you’ve got your hands full!” So so often. One time a guy told me, “you’re doing a really great job, being a mom is hard.” And dang, I needed that 😭.
Jessica Rabbit 2 months ago (edited)
After observing me with my daughters, my cousin leaned over to me and said, "you know you are a great mom, right?" and it instantly brought me to tears. He has no idea how much I needed to hear that and how much it meant to me.
In any case, we do believe you'll find these three dozen or so stories very interesting and useful to read, so please feel free to scroll the list to the very end; it's truly worth reading, just believe me. And, well, if you have your own tale about the wisest or simply catchiest words you've ever heard, why not share it in the comments below?
#16
“A tree that has borne fruit cannot look like a sapling.”
Said, supportively, about unrealistic expectations for mothers’ bodies.
#17
I can’t remember the exact words, but it was something my Home Ec teacher in high school said about her teaching style: “Some teachers think that you have to be harsh on students to teach properly, but I’ve always found kindness to be just as effective”.
For some reason it always stuck with me and reminded me that kindness isn’t a weakness, and shouldn’t be treated as such.
#18
The day are long but the years are short.
So true, especially now that my children are grown.
#19
“Assume ignorance, not malice.”.
Joe Publique 2 months ago
Otherwise known as Hanlon's Razor. Never attribute to malice that which is adequately explained by stupidity
#20
You wouldn’t worry so much about what others thought of you, if you knew how seldom they did.
ॐBoyGanesh 2 months ago
This!!! And, again: “Your opinion of me is none of my business.” When someone actually does think of me, that’s their thoughts. Not mine. It has nothing to do with me on my end.
#21
Roughly it was:
"You know those people who just light up your life and make you feel warm and fuzzy? You don't realise they do it till they're gone...
I'm so glad you're back".
Barbara Deskins 1 month ago
I thought my co-workers didn't really care for me. When I got back from vacation, one girl hugged me and said 'please don't ever go on vacation again". After that, they started respecting my performance
#22
"You're just too much of everything." As I was excitedly explaining how I was the first in 4 generations to seek higher education.
Never lost my twinkle so quickly. I was just excited to share some great news.
Edit: Thank you to everyone for their support. I am in a much better place and have been for a while now. I've graduated, and I'm extremely thankful for the journey that I've endured. Without it, I wouldn't be me. 🫶.
The Majestic Opossum 2 months ago
I know it's just a T-shirt slogan, but my new favorite phrase is "if I'm too much, then go find less" and I wish I would've heard that 20 years ago
#24
I was tied up and taken in the middle of the night to this Christian boys home/boot camp thing. Absolutely the most miserable time of my life. While I was there we had a flood and we were helping these coast guards fill these bags up with sand. I wasn’t allowed to talk to anyone in the boys home but I was allowed to talk to the coast guard I was helping. I ended up confiding in him about how I ended up there and how much I hated it. He told me he also hated where he was at and that he was stuck there too. It was nice to have something relatable with someone for once, but at one point he told me “Nothing lasts forever.” and that always stuck with me.
I feel like everyone thinks of good things ending when they hear “nothing lasts forever.” But to hear it in that context was actually reassuring. Knowing that no matter how much I hated where I was and how miserable I was, it wouldn’t last forever. I carried that quote with me the rest of the time I was at that place.
In case anyone is curious, the place I went to was called Anchor Academy. There’s actually a small documentary about it online called “The Anchor Home For Boys - Tough Love or A***e?”.
ॐBoyGanesh 2 months ago
How could anyone with an ounce of critical thought & a functioning moral compass associate or even identity with or as the people who support these utterly abūsive camps?
#25
"When you have a problem that can't be fixed with money, that's the moment you realize you have a real problem". - Grandma.
Fuhleeheece 2 months ago
"Money can't buy happiness, but it can make you awfully comfortable while you're being miserable." --Clare Booth Luce.
#26
"Dont worry about it. If this is the worst problem I have today, I am truly blessed. "
- when I said Sorry to the guy behind me in line at Lowes because my order had an issue, and they were having trouble ringing me up.
#27
My girlfriend once said to me;
“I know things are tough, i know you are stressed and you can talk to me, but you can’t bring it home”
She was right. I owe her a lot.
ॐBoyGanesh 2 months ago
We’ve often got music playing quietly in background of our relatively screen-free home. When any of us get carried away with “outside world noise” beyond checking in & basic venting/support, one of us will tell the music making machine to play a song from 1980 called, “Happy House” to play off the noise. It’s a wonderful reminder to respect the peace in our sanctuary from worldly stress.
#28
"And for God's sake, don't pay for it."
- My father, concluding the "s*x talk.".
#29
My boyfriend said "When you drink, I am ashamed of you". I am now almost 5 years sober and he is my husband :).
#30
It wasn’t long ago, but it was one of the most impactful sentences of my life
she said, “there’s nothing wrong with you, you’re just different”
i’m bipolar and all my life i felt like there was something wrong with me, i just didn’t know what. that’s literally what i said to her. we haven’t been dating long, but i felt the need to tell her about my disorder and all i was met with was understanding and acceptance
it’s made me realise that i should try to love myself and accept this part of me, that im worthy of love and happiness.
Glen Ellyn 2 months ago
I knew my youngest son was comparing himself to his older brother when it comes to life's milestones. During a phone conversation I said, "no need to compare yourself to your brother or sister. YOU are on a different path, just like your sister is on a different path from your brother." I believe he listened to what I said, and took it to heart. I think he's in a better place within himself now.
#31
“you have a wonderful smile, i wish i saw more of it”, i was a depressed teenager and its the only “smile more” actually made me smile more 🤣.
ॐBoyGanesh 2 months ago
It doesn’t have to be a request. You don’t have to make the demand of someone. You can simply say, “I love your smile”
#32
"I wish you didn't have to work so much" - my mom's last coherent words to me as I was having to rush downstairs to work in the ER.
Luke Branwen 2 months ago
At least working in the EA is an actually important job... my mother's destroying herself for a d@mn supermarket. I KNOW she's gonna regret it so, so much later on but she's got that unbreakable Gen X work ethics.
#33
My Mother said, when I was 11yrs old, that she was supposed to love me, but just didn't like me enough. We are no contact.
#34
"ive seen plastic bags go further in life than you".
#36
“I’ve never understood you and I don’t think I want to either”
Said by my best friend of over a decade. We no longer speak.
Fuhleeheece 2 months ago
Response, with a twinkle in the eye: "My mind works in mysterious ways."
What do you think ?
Yora Belle End 2 months ago
“When you hate, the only person that suffers is you because most of the people you hate don't know it and the rest don't care.” ― Medgar Evers
Erik Godfrey 2 months ago
"Run towards embarrassment not away from it, that takes away it power"
Yora Belle End 2 months ago
“When you hate, the only person that suffers is you because most of the people you hate don't know it and the rest don't care.” ― Medgar Evers
Erik Godfrey 2 months ago
"Run towards embarrassment not away from it, that takes away it power"
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