It’s been 2 years since the polarizing finale of ‘How I Met Your Mother’ hit the screens, and while a lot of people still can’t get over the show, there are people like me who have moved past and are back to watching FRIENDS. HIMYM, frankly, may not be the best TV series of all time (it’s Game of Thrones, dude!), but it’s still pretty much a benchmark to relationship rules and life lessons when it comes to us, guys! Let’s recount all the best rules and theories of life from HIMYM.
1) The Three Days Rule
This rule states that upon receiving the number of a potential partner, one must always wait for at least three days to make the call. According to Barney, the rule has a biblical sense as Jesus was resurrected from his grave after three days. Not a day more, not a day less, just three days.
Still confused? Watch Barney breaking it down for you.
2) Graduation Goggles
It’s the feeling of nostalgia you get about a time or someone in your life when things are about to about to end, even if that time or person was completely horrible. Basically the moment you realize something is about to end, a relation or a job or college, you start to enjoy all the things you hated about it in the first place making you feel like it’s worth holding onto (even if it isn’t). Totally relatable, isn’t it? Who likes change after all?
3) Girlfriend/Gremlin Theory
© Pinterest
Barney dropped another wisdom that basically explains how you can prevent a girl or a one night stand from becoming your girlfriend. The rules might be the same as you apply to gremlins.
1) Never get them wet. (That means never let them shower at your place.)
2) Keep them away from sunlight. (Never see them during the day.)
3) Never feed them after midnight. (Don’t let them sleep at your place so you don’t have to feed them breakfast or brunch the next day.)
4) The Lobster Situation
© CBS
The crazy way in which you want someone/something so badly only because you’ve been denied of it. That feeling is too real, isn’t it? Nothing makes you want something more than knowing that it’s off limits, even if that thing/person is not too great to begin with. That’s screwed up, but totally true. What’s Robin’s solution to it? Just have it once and get it out of your system. I wouldn’t agree to it, though!
5) Nothing Good Happens After 2 A.M. Rule
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It’s exactly what the rule says and I kind of agree to it. Being awake past 2 AM means you skimping on sleep. And that’s never good!
6) The Dobler-Dahmer Theory
This theory explains the fine line between love and craziness with the help of Dobler (i.e. Lloyd Dobler from ‘Say Anything’ who held up a boom box outside Diane Court’s window) and Dahmer (i.e. the serial killer Jeffery Dahmer). If both people are madly in love with each other, then the grand, romantic gestures of love work and that’s Dobler. If one person, however, isn’t into the other, that gesture comes off as serial-killer crazy.
7) Platinum Rule
There will always be some people you will see on regular basis—neighbors, colleagues, your boss etc. Never date those people according to Platinum rule. It will only lead to never-ending suffering as the people involved will constantly have to see each other.
The stages include as explained by Barney are:
1) Attraction
2) Bargaining
3) Submission
4) Perks
5) Tipping Point
6) Purgatory
7) Confrontation
8) Fall Out
Ted later adds a 9th stage
9) Co-existence
8) The Lemon Law
© wikia
When going out on a date, from the moment it begins, you’ve exactly five minutes to decide if the person is worth committing to an entire evening. Kind of a date warranty, meaning even if you’re not up to it, there won’t be any hard feelings or repercussions.
9) The Reacher/Settler rule
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This rule states that every relationship has a reacher and a settler. The person who reaches for someone out of their league is the reacher and the person who settles for someone below theirs (you’re probably thinking that’s you, no? Also, the settler is never jealous of the reacher.
10) The Cheerleader Effect
© Uber Humour
And finally, saving the best for the last. Also known as the The Bridesmaid Paradox or a Sorority Girl Syndrome states that girls appear hot only when they are in a group and become significantly less hot when singled out. This claim, now, has also some scientific backup too.