Somewhere between growing up, raising a family, and leading teams, I started keeping a mental (and now written) list of life lessons—what you might call “dad-isms” or plain old common sense.
These are bits of wisdom, wrapped in humor, usually learned the hard way, and repeated often enough to become second nature. They apply at work, home, and anywhere else humans interact, fail, or forget to use common sense.
Here’s my list of 25 common sense rules to live by—some serious, some sarcastic, all (I think) worth remembering.
The Common Sense List
1. Never argue with an idiot; they will drag you down to their level and beat you with experience.
Arguing with fools is like wrestling a pig—you both get dirty, and the pig likes it.
2. Never ask a barber if you need a haircut.
Don’t ask people to be objective when their answer comes with commission.
3. You will either take the time to do it right or take the time to do it twice.
Pick your pain: the pain of discipline or the pain of regret.
4. Measure twice and cut once.
Applies to boards, budgets, and bold decisions.
5. Don’t let perfect get in the way of good.
Perfection is the enemy of progress—and an excuse for procrastination.
6. When you fail to plan, you plan to fail.
Winging it works… until it doesn’t.
7. If you raise your children, you get to spoil your grandchildren. But if you spoil your children, you’ll be raising your grandchildren.
A multigenerational cause-and-effect lesson, right there.
8. Better to remain silent and be thought a fool than to speak and remove all doubt.
Some of y’all are giving TED Talks when you should be whispering.
9. Don’t put off finishing your work. Procrastination is just laziness wearing a deadline.
It’s not time management—it’s excuse management.
10. Experience is what you get when you don’t get what you want.
Life has a weird way of teaching, especially when it says “no.”
11. In 20 years, the only ones who will remember the long hours you worked will be your family.
Don’t trade what matters most for what matters now.
12. When leading a team, if you find no one following, you’re not a leader—you’re just out for a walk.
Check your mirror. Leadership requires more than movement.
13. Buy the best, and only cry once.
Cheap usually means “you’ll be buying this again soon.”
14. In conflict, look forward five years. Will the contention still matter? If not, it doesn’t matter now.
Save your energy for the hills worth dying on.
15. You have two ears and one mouth; use them in that ratio.
Listening is underrated, and talking is overused.
16. Opinions are like noses—everyone has one, and most of them smell.
Just because you can say it doesn’t mean you should.
17. Never eat the last piece of something you didn’t buy.
This is how family feuds start.
18. If you’re not invited, don’t ask to go.
Forced inclusion is still exclusion with an awkward smile.
19. The way you do anything is the way you’ll do everything.
Small habits reveal big patterns.
20. If it takes less than five minutes, do it now.
The little things stack up. So do the excuses.
21. Character is who you are when no one’s watching. Integrity is doing the right thing anyway.
Don’t confuse reputation with reality.
22. Don’t let your mouth write checks your character can’t cash.
Talk less. Show more.
23. Excuses are lies you tell yourself so you can feel better about not doing the thing.
Let that one marinate.
24. You don’t rise to the level of your goals—you fall to the level of your systems.
Want better results? Build better habits.
25. Every once in a while, stop and ask: “Is this the hill I’m willing to die on?”
Spoiler: Most things aren’t.
Final Thought
Life moves fast. It’s easy to react, speak, decide, and scroll without thinking. But here’s the thing: wisdom often looks like pausing for just a moment before you act.
- Before you speak, think.
- Before you hit send, reread.
- Before you react, breathe.
- Before you judge, ask a question.
- Before you spend, consider the cost.
- Before you lead, listen.
Because sometimes, the difference between a mistake and a lesson… is one second of thought.
So here’s to thinking—just for a moment—before we move.
Got your own “rules to live by”? Drop that common sense in the comments—I’m always looking for more to add to the list.
If you liked these dad-isms, check out a few Dad Jokes for the GRC Crowd.
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Credit: OpenAI helped create my article outlines and generate the imagery. Grammarly fixed my writing errors and Quillbot makes everything better.