Best Advice You Ever Got

[QuarterLiferAmy]

Hey everyone,

What is the BEST possible advice that you have ever received? What was the piece of advice? Who gave the advice to you?

:question:

[wordsmith]

My dad, teaching me his own brand of "blessed are the meek:"

-"Be kind to the little ones."

(He gave this, first, in the context of watching out for the little kids on the school bus, because they were looking up to you. Broadly applied, over my life, to the practice of advocating for those with no advocacy, giving voice to those who don't have a voice - MAJOR guiding principals in my personal and professional life. Also meaning to be a good role model).


My grandma, throughout my childhood:

-"Smile and say hello to people you meet."

(given in the context of first day of school, etc., but I've generally found it to open many doors in an array of contexts)

[LilGuillermo]

Well I chose not to go on a second date with this girl cos while everyone else thought the both of us were a cute pair, I just didn't think she was right, and my friend applauded me to make a decision like that, and the words that stuck out were, "don't ever settle." That's probably a phrase that many people have heard or said, and many view it as just generic advice, but for me it's something that could be framed! It's like, I look at people who are in their early 20's and have already topped out in life and are happy about it, and if that's what they want then who am I to judge? But when I'm older I don't think I'm going to want to look back and see that I didn't push myself.

[1977]

Well I chose not to go on a second date with this girl cos while everyone else thought the both of us were a cute pair, I just didn't think she was right, and my friend applauded me to make a decision like that, and the words that stuck out were, "don't ever settle." That's probably a phrase that many people have heard or said, and many view it as just generic advice, but for me it's something that could be framed! It's like, I look at people who are in their early 20's and have already topped out in life and are happy about it, and if that's what they want then who am I to judge? But when I'm older I don't think I'm going to want to look back and see that I didn't push myself.

Eternally pushing yourself is a seemingly noble quest but there is wisdom in being aware of the limits of your own potential ( & everyone has limits even if some seem more "limited" than those).

[callyna81]

Not to beat myself up, or, as it was phrased in a book I read recently, "be kind to yourself."

I'm a perfectionist at heart. I set the bar way too high. I really do need to self-talk myself that I am a good person, that I've tried, that I did good.

[allie1105]

My grandmother always told me, "Nothing is hard when you know how to do it." This phrase is more true than anything else I've been told. I miss her so much...but her words truly get me through a lot of rough patches. Grad school - started out very tough - but her words helped me give it a fair shot, and I excelled...anything I can think of - my hobbies, my career, started with that phrase. I never give up on things because of it. She always had the best sayings/advice for everything.

[Ezra Pippen]

..wasted alot of time tangled up too much in other peoples' expectations, including my parents.

But whether I spend most of my life working in pursuit of my goals, or more of it mentoring others, what my dad has said to me many times still holds true, "You gotta run your own race. Ain't noone going to do it for you."

[excalz]

I was concerned about being fired from my camp position and received this advice from one of the younger staff members:
Stop worrying about getting fired because that will get you fired and just focus on doing your job the best you can.

[caostotale]

My father:
"Always exhibit mental toughness."
"Don't forget to use your head."

My mother (through-and-through old-school Catholic):
"Do on to others..."

My high-school science teacher:
"Engage brain before opening mouth..."

My uncle:
"Sometimes the best you can do is to kill assholes with kindness."

All of these are pretty simplistic, but I pretty much wholeheartedly subscribe to the first four. I feel like the fifth is a little too idealistic.

[StepOnIt]

"Reste bien avec tout le monde." -Grandma

Stay on good terms with everyone. If you can avoid pissing people off, you should. This is a part of networking that people seem to sometimes forget to do.

[redav]

"Don't give people advice. Give them good information and let them decide what to do with it."

Ironic, isn't it?

[SarahLiz]

The best advice I ever got was from my step-dad who, although he turned out to be a total D-bag, was a very intelligent guy.

"You are in total control of your own attitude." In other words, if you have a bad attitude, you're choosing to have that bad attitude, which is unhealthy and risking driving people away, instead of adopting a positive attitude that is healthy and makes people like to be around you.

"If what you're upset about isn't going to matter in a month/6 months/year/5 years... why are you upset about it?"

And when he became a total D-bag, he indirectly taught me this: Family is everything. Don't throw them away.

[hoodie]

"I can’t tell you not to be scared or worried because sometimes in your life, the worst possible thing is going to happen….breakups, death, illness, et cetera. Things like that happen, and they suck, but all you can do is keep moving and deal with what already happened. Nothing in the world could have prevented those things. Most of the time, the things you’re worrying about happening don’t happen at the same time, or in the same way, or to the same degree you expect them to. And that’s why, even if you can’t keep yourself from worrying, you need to consider the good in a situation equally with the bad.”


^^I love keeping a blog. It helps you remember really sage stuff like this.

[meatwad]

I heard this on the radio once.

"Love at first sight is just lust at first sight that happens to work out."

[spiritedaway]

I've heard a lot of great advice over the years, but the simple ones are:

1) Be yourself and you'll never go wrong.

2) Don't settle.

3) Expect the worst, hope for the best.

[chicagogirl]

From my Dad:
Life is what happens when you're making other plans.

From my Mom:
Life's crazy sometimes. Find someone who will go through it all with you.
and
There is no perfect time to fall in love. It happens.

[teeny]

"live within (or below) your means"- dad
He also recited a Dickens quote that went along with it:
"Annual income twenty pounds, annual expenditure nineteen six, result happiness. Annual income twenty pounds, annual expenditure twenty pound ought and six, result misery."

'Whenever you feel like criticizing anyone,' he told me, just remember that all the people in this world haven't had the advantages that you've had."- Nick Carraway's father in The Great Gatsby

[1977]

"live within (or below) your means"- dad
He also recited a Dickens quote that went along with it:
"Annual income twenty pounds, annual expenditure nineteen six, result happiness. Annual income twenty pounds, annual expenditure twenty pound ought and six, result misery."

'Whenever you feel like criticizing anyone,' he told me, just remember that all the people in this world haven't had the advantages that you've had."- Nick Carraway's father in The Great Gatsby

Nothing like a Dickensian piece of advice on thrift. :) Makes me think of the Voltaire quote "Doubt is not a pleasant condition, but certainty is absurd."

[Sanman111]

I have heard "don't settle" before, but I believe that the best piece of advice I have ever heard came out of a conversation I had with a girl I knew in college:

"Just because you can, doesn't mean you should"

Remembering that has often made me consider whether the choices I am making are due to societal, parental, peer, etc pressure or if they will truly make me happy.

[mahlerssecond]

I am learning a very important lesson of late on one of my favorite subjects (political science); "success in politics does not depend on the ideas you have, but how you manage your relationships."
The golden rule is still one of the best pieces of advice that any one can recieve. Some variant of it is common to all religions.
Even though I am not a religious person; I like to live by Matthew 25; 31-46 in the bible. It talks about helping your fellow man in need.

[midtwenty]

My grandmother: "Never start doing something you don't intend to continue doing." (Referring to things like picking up your kids socks every day or always being the one to spring for dinner. If you never start doing it, people won't expect you to.)

My husband: "They can't make you do it if you never learn how." (Referring to being overworked at his job because he's one of the few competent, intelligent, dependable ones.)

The trick is knowing when and how to implement said advice. ;)

[vinsanity]

Grandfather: "beyond all else, a man is worth nothing more than his word"

Mom's friend: "plan like you will live forever, live like you will die tomorrow"

Uncle: "never verbally attack someone who cannot defend themselves"

[pepsi91307]

A friend told me, "whether u enjoy now, or suffer now, tomorrow will come, next week will come, and next month will come. So you might as well enjoy now and worry about the rest later"