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Original poster

Best Advice/Quote you've been given/heard about life

123 replies

NETSRIK · 08/02/2022 16:40

Please can I have some help...

I am going to fill a jar up with some quotes, advice, tips, life hacks, confidence boosters (you name it!) for my teenage children. My daughter has asked for one and I'd like to do it for all my children (might even do one for myself!). I've seen some excellent posts on here about advice and things that were said to you in your childhood/teenage years that were positive for you and stuck with you through life so please please please could I ask for you to share the best bits of advice or quotes from people which have helped you navigate through life. Thank you!

OP posts:
imsanehonest · 09/02/2022 01:08

Don't listen to criticism from someone you wouldn't go to for wisdom.

KTB19 · 09/02/2022 01:24

People will treat you how you let them.

foxlover47 · 09/02/2022 01:38

What you allow , will continue
You can't polish a turd
And my fave is
Those that mind don't matter , and those that matter don't mind

What a great thread OP :)

MrsAvocet · 09/02/2022 01:45

From my Mum "High heels don't make you look tall , they just make you look like a short person in silly shoes. Be comfortable and be you."

sunshinepunch · 09/02/2022 01:49

Don't chase anyone - be it friendships or relationships. People will come into your life and the right people will stay.

ElmtreeMama · 09/02/2022 01:51

The trick is to keep breathing

Days are long but life is short

halfsiesonapotnoodle · 09/02/2022 03:00

It's not compulsory to have children.

Bogeyes · 09/02/2022 03:31

Trust no one and expect nothing

Original poster
NETSRIK · 09/02/2022 07:04

Thank you so much for these! They are wonderful!

OP posts:
Nacreous · 09/02/2022 07:13

At work my favourite is "don't get it right, get it written".

i.e. don't worry if you don't totally have a plan, aren't sure exactly what you want out the end of the work - just start. It doesn't matter if it's right, you can worry about that later - it's a lot easier to fix something that exists than a blank page.

Weenurse · 09/02/2022 07:26

If a dog does not like someone, trust the dog.

Rawmum30 · 09/02/2022 07:29

Hi OP…. Not offering any words of wisdom as such, but in your post you thought that you might even have an advice jar for yourself.

May I suggest that (if they are old enough) they fill a jar for you?
Ok, I know that they haven’t lived long enough yet to be fully aware, but it would be interesting to get their viewpoints.
Also you could use their ideas as a talking point.
So if any of their “suggestions” seem questionable, you could all debate that, and in turn, they could debate any of your ideas.
It would make all of you feel valued, and it’d be great to have an insight into how your DC are thinking.

Original poster
NETSRIK · 09/02/2022 07:43

@Rawmum30

Hi OP…. Not offering any words of wisdom as such, but in your post you thought that you might even have an advice jar for yourself.

May I suggest that (if they are old enough) they fill a jar for you?
Ok, I know that they haven’t lived long enough yet to be fully aware, but it would be interesting to get their viewpoints.
Also you could use their ideas as a talking point.
So if any of their “suggestions” seem questionable, you could all debate that, and in turn, they could debate any of your ideas.
It would make all of you feel valued, and it’d be great to have an insight into how your DC are thinking.

That's a great idea! I'll definitely do that too! Thank you.
OP posts:
Bloatstoat · 09/02/2022 09:06

From Dr Suess 'The Places You'll Go':
'You have brains in your head. You have feet in your shoes. You can steer yourself any direction you choose. You're on your own. And you know what you know. And YOU are the one who'll decide where to go..."

I also really like the advice that always crops up on threads on here along with the inevitable LTB - 'Being unhappy with it is enough of a reason to leave a relationship'. It's advice that would have saved me a lot of unnecessary unhappiness when I was younger and thought I needed a really big reason to end relationships when I was unhappy and treated badly.

gingerhills · 09/02/2022 09:21
  1. If you want to learn how to do something, it doesn't matter if you don;t pick it up quickly or you have not much natural talent for it. Take as long as you need to learn it.

That was said to be casually by a girl I shared a house with at uni and it transformed my attitude to dancing. I went from being a very clumsy dyspraxic to someone who people asked was I professionally trained.

  1. This one sounds cheesy but I think it is the best advice ever:
Be your own best friend.

There is one person you can never get away from, your entire life and it is yourself, so may as well get on with yourself: practise good physical and mental self-care, eat well, rest well, take care of your health. Be kind and positive about yourself, do fun things regularly, step away from people who put you down or make you feel bad, don't tolerate being used or abused by friends, family, lovers or employers. And avoid unfair critical self-talk. Being your own best friend is a great simple phrase that encompasses so many right ways to live.

  1. Do what you want without causing harm.

That's just a moral code to live by. Do exactly what you want in life so long as you are mindful of not intentionally causing harm to yourself or other people.

gingerhills · 09/02/2022 09:22

@Bloatstoat

From Dr Suess 'The Places You'll Go': 'You have brains in your head. You have feet in your shoes. You can steer yourself any direction you choose. You're on your own. And you know what you know. And YOU are the one who'll decide where to go..."

I also really like the advice that always crops up on threads on here along with the inevitable LTB - 'Being unhappy with it is enough of a reason to leave a relationship'. It's advice that would have saved me a lot of unnecessary unhappiness when I was younger and thought I needed a really big reason to end relationships when I was unhappy and treated badly.

I LOVE that book, because it avoids being cheesy with those lines; 'except when you don't because sometimes you won't' - reminding DC that life isn;t all perfect and that is fine too.
gingerhills · 09/02/2022 09:25

Another useful one is: don't take advice from someone who hasn't walked a mile in your shoes. I found that very useful when I had baby twins. If I cut out the 'advice' from mothers of single babies and only listened to mothers of twins, it suddenly all made sense and I felt less inadequate.

LittleBlueRidingBoot · 09/02/2022 10:36

A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step

namechangerqwerty · 09/02/2022 10:41

You can take a horse to water but you can't make it drink.

I am the captain of my ship, the master of my soul.

yummyscummymummy01 · 09/02/2022 10:44

J K Rowling is full of them! One of my favourites:

It is impossible to live without failing at something, unless you live so cautiously that you might as well not have lived at all—in which case, you fail by default

Time40 · 09/02/2022 11:04

If you don't eat life, it will eat you

(said by the very wise Joan Collins)

WeBuiltThisBuffetOnSausageRoll · 09/02/2022 11:26

Another useful one is: don't take advice from someone who hasn't walked a mile in your shoes.

Not wishing to be flippant at all, as that is very good advice indeed, but it did remind me of the old comical variation:

"Don't criticise or insult a difficult person until you've walked a mile in their shoes - that way, you'll have a mile head start on them.... and they won't be wearing any shoes" Grin

BasiliskFace · 09/02/2022 11:34

"The man who never made a mistake never made anything"
It took a long time for that one to sink in, as a perfectionist who went to a grammar school, and I wish I had acted on it sooner.
I guess it is basically the same as JK Rowling's one just above.
Of course it could be "woman" or "person".

gingerhills · 09/02/2022 11:35

@WeBuiltThisBuffetOnSausageRoll

Another useful one is: don't take advice from someone who hasn't walked a mile in your shoes.

Not wishing to be flippant at all, as that is very good advice indeed, but it did remind me of the old comical variation:

"Don't criticise or insult a difficult person until you've walked a mile in their shoes - that way, you'll have a mile head start on them.... and they won't be wearing any shoes" Grin

Grin Grin Grin
Original poster
NETSRIK · 09/02/2022 11:42

I found some I saved on Pinterest which I like.

You can't be bitter and expect your life to be sweet

Invest in people who invest in you

Stop saying yes to shit you hate

The best things in life aren't things

Don't believe everything you think

Be a little more you and a lot less them.

You won't be distracted by comparison if you are distracted by purpose.

Be picky with your clothes, friends and time.

OP posts: