The One With The Accidental Life Lesson

I'm a huge fan of the show FRIENDS. Like, don't even challenge me on FRIENDS trivia. But for all the laughs I and my kids have gotten (and continue to get) out of the show, I learned one really important lesson while watching.

In one particular episode, a character said something particularly sarcastic to another, a line I had watched a thousand times before; this time, however, it stood out as something that would've almost definitely been the beginning of a fight between friends in real life. At the very least, some feelings would've been hurt. The character on the receiving end of the snark, however, simply moved on to their next line, completely letting the comment fly by unanswered. It was just a one-liner, not an important part of the storyline.

As I sat contemplating this difference between a show that's trying to tell a story in 22 minutes and our everyday lives, I realized we often do stop and pay attention to comments we shouldn't. How many pointless arguments could be averted among friends, co-workers, and significant others if we all adopted this strategy?

More often than not, someone is simply trying to be funny and what they said unintentionally came out mean. In a very few cases, the person was actually trying to get a rise out of you. Either way, you're better off ignoring the comment. You'll find it empowering to rise above.

This particular writing mechanism certainly isn't exclusive to this show, nor were they attempting to make it a teachable moment, but the lesson is certainly a great one:

When someone says something sarcastic and teasing, rather than getting all hurt about it...

Don't make their one-liner a part of your story.

FRIENDS is © Warner Bros Television