What’s the best lesson your dad ever taught you without even realising it? – 17 pearls of wisdom obliviously passed on by fathers

If adverts and hack sitcoms are to be believed, dads are nothing more than bumbling fools who can never do anything right.

The real world, of course, is very different. Fathers obviously pass on valuable life lessons, so much so that sometimes they’re not even aware that they’re doing it. To spread their collected wisdom even further, OverclockCoffeeCo put this question to the good folks over at r/AskReddit:

‘What’s the best lesson your dad ever taught you without even realising it?’

Here are the top times dads didn’t even know they were teachers…

1.

‘Bridge surfaces freeze before roadways because air hits it on 2 sides.

The more angles in a roof, the more potential there is for leaks.’
-70plusMom

2.

‘That real strength is staying calm when everything’s falling apart’
-New-Organization09

3.

‘That blood does not make family, building bonds, trust, and love for one another does.

Thanks, sperm donor. Haven’t seen you in nearly 20 years. I hope your new family is making you happy.’
-Designer-Cheese

4.

‘Enjoy the present because you aren’t guaranteed a future. My dad was always focused on the goal of creating a great future for his family so he worked very hard. As soon as he was on the cusp of reaching the goal, he died at 42. He lost a lot of the moments in between and then he was gone.’
-Right-Cause1912

5.

‘A man sacrifices for his family. He never preached it. He just did it. Without ever bitching. We needed reliable stable money with health insurance so he did the same job for 20 years. If they called he came regardless of even a holiday. I resented it as a kid but I get it now. It’s not like he wanted to. He had to. And that’s a man.’
-AggravatingTear4919

6.

‘The axe forgets, but the tree remembers.

My dad is a recovering alcoholic. He got sober when I was around 14. Before he got sober, he said some pretty mean things to me. Most of the time, he doesn’t even remember saying it.

My dad has long since made amends. He’s 12 years sober and is a licensed chemical dependency counselor. He’s grown a lot, and is constantly teaching me new things. I’m very proud of him.’
-ArielSpooky

7.

‘He taught me, without saying a word, that consistency is love just showing up every day mattered most’
-Pure_Ad09

8.

‘Two things he told me that mattered:

Always be nice to the secretaries, because they run the world.

Never trust a statistician.’
-Milligoon

9.

‘My dad taught me how to do a lot of things. Things women typically don’t do. (Like how to paint walls, how to lay tile, how to build all kinds of things.). He taught me it’s best to learn how to fix things yourself because there may come a point where there won’t be someone else there to fix it for you. He also taught me to be stubborn and really push for something if you want it and can do it. (Did that at work and have a job I love doing.). I may look like my mom (according to my sister) but I act like and have the same drive as my dad did. And I’m proud of that fact.’
-Far-Seaweed3218