A Kid On The Train Saved A Man ‘A Trip To Therapy’ After He Overheard The Boy's Relationship Advice To A Friend
“I’m eavesdropping and it’s curing me.”
Tatiana Diuvbanova / Shutterstock On a seemingly average day on his morning commute to work, a TikTok creator did as any other completely normal person would do on a crowded train — he eavesdropped. One conversation he overheard between two high school boys particularly piqued his interest.
“A kid on the train just gave his friend some advice,” he started, referring to one of the teenagers, “but I think he just cured my self-consciousness.”
After overhearing a teen boy’s conversation on a train, the man admitted his simple relationship advice saved him ‘a trip to therapy.’
“From what I understood, his friend has a crush on a girl, and he can’t really talk to her because he’s scared of what he’ll say or if he’ll ‘sound dumb,’” he explained. “His friend just said, ‘Dude, you have to assume that people will like you.’”
While at first, it seemed like a movie quote or a one-liner from his therapist, the man couldn’t help but get invested in their conversation — wondering how a 15-year-old boy dropped incredible wisdom on his friend at 8 a.m. on a Monday morning. “Homeboy better seize the day," he wrote in the caption. "His friend’s brain was full this morning.”
“I was listening to this like, [expletive], did he get this from TikTok? Or did he come up with this?" he recalled. "I’m eavesdropping, and he’s curing me. He’s making me figure out that it’s fine.”
Urging his friend to speak with the girl he liked, the boy offered a simple yet powerful piece of advice: Always assume that everyone already likes you.
His aura of confidence and wisdom was enough to sit with this creator much longer than his short commute on the train. If you assume that people like you, not only do you enter spaces with a more confident demeanor, you remove yourself from the poisoning fear of rejection so many of us grapple with.
From first dates to high school romances to workplace dynamics, if you’re more worried about rejection than pure connection, you’re setting yourself up for failure. Being your own genuine self is much easier — in any relationship — when you’re not worried about making them like you.
Sabrina Bracher / Shutterstock.com
“It’s not that I’m insecure,” he added, “but I’m definitely self-conscious. I’m not an insane person … I think."
While he quietly rooted for this teenage boy’s friend, he also took the nuggets of wisdom for himself. “Isn’t it gorgeous?” he asked in the comments. “What an attitude to have. I’m seriously jealous.”
Commenters were equally impressed by this teenager’s relationship advice — suggesting that this mindset genuinely has the power to change lives.
"You were meant to hear that," one user wrote.
"The kid is spitting facts," another commented. "It's our pain and rejection that makes us more guarded than necessary."
While it’s a seemingly simple piece of advice — something we might try to trick ourselves into believing amidst the anxiety of first date preparations — it has the power to transform all of our interactions. When we forgo the anxiety coupled with the opinions of other people, we approach new relationships and conversations with the confidence of self-awareness and genuine interest.
You’re more likely to bond and grow true relationships with people when you feel confident enough to show them your true self. Why worry about the opinions of other people who don’t know you well?
“Remind yourself that 99% of your thoughts are untrue,” healing coach @self_worth_revolution on TikTok advised. “Nothing is personal. Let people think what they’re going to think. You have no control over it.”
As many commenters admitted under the post, even when relationships don’t work out, or conversations don’t go as anticipated, embodying this mantra ensures you still have the secure reassurance that you acted as your true self, not a reflection of them.
“Wisdom can come from any age,” a commenter added. “Even if they realize they don’t like me, I just don’t take it personally.”
Zayda Slabbekoorn is a News & Entertainment Writer at YourTango who focuses on health & wellness, social policy, and human interest stories.