My associate Ilena watched a lot of television as a child. It was a steady diet of cartoons and re-runs in the afternoon and sit-coms at night. Despite all this television viewing, she ended up a well-adjusted adult. She remembers the admonishments from the adults around her not to watch “too much” television. Years later, she realized the lessons she learned from watching television. Below, she shares a list of shows and the lessons they imparted.

Big Bang Theory—Individuality

I remember when most sitcoms had a cool character, a nerdy character and characters who were average. Not the Big Bang Theory. More than half the characters are nerdy, they know it and they embrace it.  What is it that makes you, you?  Is it the love of a particular sport?  Do you have a hobby/interest that you could spend hours doing?  Is it your ability turn a mundane action into a funny story?  Whatever it is, don’t apologize for it or hide it away. Be like the characters on the Big Bang Theory and own it.

Who’s the Boss—Resilience

Brooklyn native Tony Misselli was a professional baseball player whose playing days ended prematurely due to an injury.  His wife died soon after and he was left with a 10-year-old daughter to care for. He then found work in the Connecticut suburbs as a live-in maid for Angela Bauer. She was a divorced, single mother and executive at a New York City ad agency, who had an 8-year-old son in need of a positive male role model. As you can guess, Tony had to navigate life in the suburbs while holding down a job and carrying for his daughter. Later in the series’ run, Tony attends college and Angela loses her job at the agency and starts her own ad agency. All of this demonstrates how the characters are resilient in the face of setbacks. When difficulties came along, they didn’t run from them. Both Tony and Angela did their best to make whatever sticky situation they were in better. Sometimes, they succeeded. Sometimes they failed. What they didn’t do was give up.

Antiques Roadshow—Knowing your value

One of the few shows on television that is both fun and educational. People from all walks of life bring their items to appraisers to find out if they are either trash or treasure. Sometimes people bring in items that aren’t exactly pretty, only to find that they are worth a lot of money. Once they learn that their item is worth a great deal of money, it looks a lot better to them.  The same can be said about us. When we know our value, we should endeavor to make the best of it. That means saying “no” to projects or tasks that can take us away from things that could make us money, such as free consulting that doesn’t lead to a paying gig.  It can also mean staying away from people that don’t allow us be our best selves. There’s only so much of ourselves to go around. Therefore, it is best not to do things or be with people who want more than we can give.

I Love Lucy— Creativity

Lucy Ricardo was the queen of crazy schemes and she didn’t let failure deter her.  She truly believed that she would be successful with each of her schemes. That’s why she kept coming up with one crazy scheme after another. Whether it was dancing in a vat of grapes in the hopes of becoming a movie star to working with Ethel in a candy factory to prove to their husbands that they could handle a “real” job, Lucy used her mind and imagination to come up with and execute each scheme. Granted, if she had done any due diligence, at least some of the time, she would have realized that not all her ideas would have worked.  But then Lucy wouldn’t have been Lucy. The lesson here is to use your imagination and do your due diligence.  Don’t be deterred by feelings that what you are planning is a “crazy idea” that won’t work. Things like home computers, television and the automobile were considered crazy ideas. Now they are a part of everyday life. You have a mind that can think of so many things. Don’t be afraid to use it.

TV shows aren’t always mind-numbing entertainment. They can point out what we can do to live our best lives. I’d go on but my favorite show, Antiques Roadshow, will be on soon.

Thank you, Ilena!