Don’t Rock the Boat

Closely related to the previous point—Always Listen to Your Mother—is this well-intentioned but misguided piece of advice. Of course, Mom was not alone in thinking my life would go easier if I would just go along with the status quo, no matter how distasteful or just plain wrong. But I never did learn to keep my mouth shut. Yes, there’s been a lot of choppy water to navigate over the years, but at least my boat never got mired in mud.