Did your grandparents ever say things that sounded strange when you were younger? They could have been just plain loony, but they also might have been telling you valuable proverbs that will come in handy sometime in life. Everyone has heard the saying "two wrongs don't make a right" and "the pen is mightier than the sword," but some other proverbs and sayings aren't as straightforward and self explanatory as these are. However, these could greatly improve your attitude toward life if they are understood on a deeper level. Below are some of these important proverbs and their explanations, which makes the sometimes difficult journey of life a bit easier to deal with.

1. "People who live in glass houses should not throw stones."

This means that people should not criticize others if they aren't perfect themselves at what they are critiquing. And I mean, if you know you aren't perfect at something, it makes much more sense to focus on what you can do to make yourself better instead of tearing others down. That is just a major waste of energy in my opinion, because the person you are trying to tear down might not even be fazed by your rudeness. Basically, you do your thing, and let other people do theirs. No one is any better than anyone else.

2. "Don't put all your eggs in one basket."

This quote is about Easter. When you're going on an Easter egg hunt, you don't want to put all your eggs in one basket, you need to save some for everyone else to find! Just kidding, this is about having a back up plan for careers and other plans. If you put all your time, money and focus into one thing, there is a possibility it won't work out. However, if you have another basket with some eggs in it for another plan, you're more likely for something to work. Also, I feel that life is more fun and exciting if you follow more than one of your passions. However, you may have also heard the figure of speech "jack of all trades, master of none." This means that someone might do a lot of things, but not do any one thing at a pro-master level. There is a happy medium though. Most people have one particular thing they are really passionate over other things, so this is the thing they practice and put the most time into. However, they don't put all their time into it. They also enjoy and work in other areas they love and still have that one thing they are stellar at. This is good for getting good paying jobs and life in general.

3. "Don't count your chickens before they've hatched."

I've never heard this one before now. It sounds silly because I always think chickens are silly. But in all seriousness, this saying does have a valuable lesson. The lesson is that you shouldn't get your hopes up too much and plan on what to do next until you have succeeded about what you wanted to do. This is a sure way to minimize the probability of disappointment. This also is connected to the importance of being flexible. If your plans don't work out but you're flexible, you can change your direction and attitude in life and never fall into a bottomless pit of despair.

These are just a few of the many proverbs and sayings that can help make the journey of life brighter. If you're ever feeling down and need something to help set you on a good path in life, looking up old proverbs and reading into the original meanings behind these cliches can help guide you like a map of little sayings. They're cliches for a reason.