The TV show ‘How I Met Your Mother‘ taught me a lot of things over the last few years. It taught me that Ted Mosby is a procrastinator because he always promises to reveal how he met the ‘mother’ but never does. It also taught me how important friendship is and how destiny already has a plan laid down for us. But most of all, it taught me that laughing is always, as said, the best medicine.

Concerning life lessons, a lot of episodes from the show focus on things one should or shouldn’t do and the consequences that may follow. Here are 10 such lessons I’ve learned by watching ‘How I Met Your Mother’. They are all legen… wait for it.

The Three Days Rule

At MacLaren’s, Ted gets a phone number from a girl at the bar and says that he will call her immediately. Barney doesn’t agree with the idea and introduces the Three Days Rule – meaning you always have to wait three days before calling a prospective love interest. He even claims the rule has its origins in Jesus’ resurrection. Although the Three Days Rule often applies, Future Ted finishes the episode by referencing his wife, saying he didn’t wait three days to call her.

Nothing good ever happens after 2 A.M.

‘Nothing Good Happens After 2 A.M.’ is actually the title of the 18th episode of the series. Ted tells his children the story of how Robin invited him over to her apartment after 2 a.m. when she shouldn’t have. Because, as his mother always used to say, when it’s 2 AM, go to bed.

Always consider the crazy-hot scale

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rNfXdHJ6Knc

A girl is allowed to be crazy as long as she’s equally hot. And you always want the girl to be above the Vicky Mendoza diagonal. Now that is pure wisdom.

When you’re sad, stop being sad

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7gqYAuFvtXM

‘When I’m sad I stop being sad and be awesome instead’ – one of Barney’s best lines ever. If only life was as easy and charming as he portrays his.

New is always better

Although Barney claims that this is his oldest rule, it isn’t very well thought. Consequently, you can watch Ted proving that his arguments aren’t very strong below.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oWvJTAVsGv0

The Platinum Rule

Never, ever, ever ‘love’ thy neighbor! If ‘New is always better; was poorly constructed, you should always stick to this one. Always. True story. You don’t poop where you eat.

How to keep a girl from becoming your girlfriend

The rules for girls are the same as the rules for gremlins. Never get them wet, keep them away from sunlight, never feed them after midnight. Who would have thought?

The chain of screaming

The way that the chain of screaming works is that one person screams at someone ‘below’ him, then that person screams at another person, and so on. Barney also thought about calling it a circle, but the metaphor fell through.

When two exes hook up somebody gets hurt

Now this one is simple: when two exes decide to just be casual, someone always gets hurt. Concerning ‘How I Met Your Mother’, the one who got hurt was Barney, when Ted and Robin started to have casual sex.

Never invite an ex to your wedding

Ted learned and important lesson in the fourth season of ‘How I Met Your Mother’. If Stella’s ex wouldn’t have been there, maybe his life would have gone differently. Yet again, he would never have met the infamous ‘mother’ we keep hearing about.

What other lessons have you learned from the sitcom and which one proved more useful? Hit the comments and let us know!

Photos are screen caps from the show