Happy Monday, y’all! Today’s post is all about the best lessons I’ve learned from my parents that I still carry with me and how I styled a patterned blazer I recently picked up.
The best lessons my parents taught me and living by them. Click To Tweet{This post may contain affiliate and/or referral links. I may receive a small commission at no extra cost to you if you make a purchase through a link in this post. Thank you for your support of What Nicole Wore.}
Featured | Best Lessons My Parents Taught Me:
Best Lessons My Parents Taught Me | The Golden Rule
The earliest thing I remember my dad teaching me was what he refers to as the Golden Rule. “Treat people the way you want to be treated.” Having this mindset impressed upon me at such a young age really taught me to be a decent human being. These days, it’s one of the first things I think about when making decisions regarding or dealing with others. This can be something major, like how to approach a tough conversation with a friend, or something minor, like letting someone in during rush hour traffic.
What's the Golden Rule you live by above everything else? Sharing mine: Click To Tweet
Best Lessons My Parents Taught Me | Don’t Sweat the Small Things
One of the best lessons from my mom has to be not to sweat the small things. I’ve always been incredibly anxious to the point of agonizing over things like whether or not someone took something I said the wrong way or worrying about things from years ago. Admittedly, this is something I’ll probably always struggle with but learning to not stress over things I can’t control and to take people at their words value has been huge to my mental state.
Sharing the best advice my parents gave me, including don't sweat the small things. Click To TweetRELATED | Advice to My 18 Year Old Self: What I Learned
Best Lessons My Parents Taught Me | Control the Controllables
My dad always tells me that I can only control the controllables and so I really try to open my eyes to that and give myself grace when I can. To be completely honest, this is still really hard for me. Giving myself grace and treating myself with kindness doesn’t come naturally to me so putting focus into learning to let things go has been really important.
RELATED | Affordable Sleeveless Sweater & Setting Boundaries for Personal Growth
Best Lessons My Parents Taught Me | First Impressions Matter
Sometimes during my preteen years, my parents stressed the importance of first impressions. This used to really weigh heavy on me, but I think if anything it’s more important now than ever. With the prevalence of social media, your first impression may not even be in person. A lot of people seem to not truly comprehend that an off color joke on Twitter, Instagram post, or Facebook share may be part of someone’s first real analysis of who you are as a person.
In today's world, your first impression may be your social media profiles. Click To TweetI talk about this specifically with the women I work with in my sorority and it’s so interesting how many social media loving, young people don’t see this. {Frustrating at times too, but that’s a whole different blog post haha.}
With blogging and content creation being such a big portion of my life right now, I try to be really conscious of what I post. Is it on brand with my personal brand? If this is the first thing someone sees from me would it be a good representation of who I am?
Is what you post + retweet in line with your personal brand? Click To TweetOf course, first impressions also can be in person. It seems so often that women get shamed for taking pride in their appearance; in actuality, good hygiene is important and confidence is healthy.
RELATED | Why You Should Buy Clothes That Give You Confidence
Best Lessons My Parents Taught Me | The Outfit
This outfit is one of my favorite that I’ve worn lately mainly because of the statement jacket. I’m really into fun statement pieces whether it be funky prints, bold colors, or embellishments. The reds, oranges, and yellows in the print of this jacket made me think it would be super versatile for the autumn months. With the bold, printed jacket, I went with neutral pieces that I wear all the time: a solid white tank, a classic black mini skirt, and olive ankle boots.
Statement pieces should be fun, not intimidating! Why your closet needs them: Click To TweetTo tie in the bold hues in my statement piece, I worked in a fun bag {y’all how good is this color?} and a new matte lipstick. I picked up this Tom Ford lipstick when I visited Cos Bar in Lexington and the formula is insanely good. Matte lipsticks can feel drying when worn, but this one really wears comfortably all day, is so pigmented, and the packaging is gorgeous.
SHOP THE POST | Best Lessons My Parents Taught Me:
This is such a sweet blog post!! With every year that I get older I think about the wisdom that my family taught me as well. And what a CUTE outfit!
xoxo A
http://www.southernbelleintraining.com
Thank you so much A!
Our parents teach us so much, things we may not actually realize or use until we get older and grown. This is such a classy look on you, and perfect for fall!
http://www.thebeautybeau.com
That statement jacket is everything! This outfit would be perfect for work.
Thanks so much Amanda!
Love this colorful look with a dose of self-reflection! I also have to check myself and give myself grace! it makes a world of difference but only works with practice. x
Aww thank you Kachet. And yes you’re right, practice does make perfect in this case!
Your parents were smart folks! Isn’t it funny how we don’t usually realize that right away? Also, I LOVE that jacket 😀
Aww thank you Valerie! And yes – it took me years to admit that they were right about anything haha.
Gorgeous outfit! Love the jacket and booties. Great wisdom from your parents. I always remember my dad telling me about the golden rule too. Another one of his favorites was “God made someone for everyone. There’s a special man or woman out there for everyone.”
That’s a great piece of advice; love hearing parents encourage patience!
I love this combo! this jacket is so pretty!
xo!
Shelby Back
http://www.glitterandgingham.com
Thank you so much Shelby!
Our parents really were right about so many things! I thought they were crazy growing up, but cherish the advice they gave!
Greta | http://www.gretahollar.com
Haha it’s so true! I was a stubborn teenager and always was like, “yeah, yeah,” but so much of the advice they gave me was spot on.
Love these thoughts. I’m so grateful for my parents the older I get!
McKenna
stylewaltz.com
Same here McKenna! It’s funny how much your view of your parents changes as you grow up!
This is such a beautiful, sweet and honest post! Love your parents advice for you and I will applying some of these golden rules. Thank you for sharing!
Aww thanks so much for reading Nelli!
Love your jacket, and such great lessons from your parents!
Aww thank you Dawn!
This is really a great post! Treat people the way you want to be treated… has stuck with me the longest and first impressions! I always remember that whenever I am going anywhere, even if I’ve been there before!
I’m so glad to hear that you think of those when you travel or meet new people — so important!
That jacket is amazing! I always love a statement piece but I always wear “safer” pieces because I think I’ll look funny in statement pieces.
Thanks Krystal; start small with a statement bag or shoe!
So many great reminders! Parents do seem to know everything, right?
They do! Although it doesn’t make hearing ‘I told you so’ any easier 😂
Your parents are wise!! The golden rule is key!! I love your creative post ideas!! All the feels on this one!
Aww thank you so much Ruth! I’ve really tried to step outside the box more with my posts!
Aw, I love this post!! So many great things that parents teach us. It’s funny how much they are right (; Love the jacket girl, the embroidery detail is amazing.
Kileen
cute & little
Haha it’s definitely hard to admit how right they were 😂
First impression does TOTALLY matter, this is one thing that my parents also ingrained into me as a child. It’s paid off in two-folds as an adult and really sets the tone in business!
Birdie Shoots
Absolutely! It surprises me when people don’t think that first impressions matter!
I totally agree with the Golden Rule! I always remind myself that there are ALWAYS things we don’t know that are going on in other people’s life. You never know what they could be going through and how bad words could affect them!
Exactly! It can be hard to think about sometimes in the moment but is a good thing to always circle back to. PS. Happy wedding week!!
My mom taught me the same first three! Love your outfit too babe!
Thanks so much sweets! Happy Wednesday!
I love this post! My parents mean the world to me!
Love this post so much!! Also, I have the same little jacket and get SO many compliments on it when I wear it. Love how you styled it!
How cool to pay homage to them with this blog post!! I can relate to most of them, especially ‘first impressions matter’! This is one my mother really drove into my head too haha!
-Morgan
How 2 Wear It [] http://how2wearit.com
Great lessons your parents taught . I have gotten better at not sweating the small stuff. There are too many things not to stress over. Love the pattern on your cropped jacket and those booties are cute!
thanks for linking!
jess xx
http://www.elegantlydressedandstylish.com
Love a good statement piece and this jacket is the cutest! Your parents did a great job instilling those lessons! Trying to not sweat the small stuff can be challenging but so important to healthy living.
I love this post! You shared so many important points!
Liz
http://Www.lizzieinlace.com
Awe I love this post, so many great lessons!