Things people have said that stuck with you

[Corneliusthecamel]

Was recently chatting to a colleague - a lovely, kind, cheery woman who is always smiling. I asked her what her secret was, how she’s always so cheerful and upbeat. She shrugged and said ‘if you keep waking up and don’t love the thought of your plans, try something else!’

Honestly, it was such a simple statement (and obviously hugely unpractical in reality sometimes, haha) but she had a point!

Also reminds me of when my Nan gave up smoking after 50 odd years - I asked her how she’d managed it as it must be so tough after all that time, she just said ‘I just tell myself that I simply mustn’t have one, and that’s that’

Brilliant! What’s yours?

Ooh I’m stealing this!

Two versions of the same idea:

• If you can't get round it or go over it, go through it.
• Sometimes the only way out is through.

Paraphrase of some Chinese philosopher:

• Everything changes. This is the only unchanging truth.

My great-aunt:

• When you're the only naked woman in the room, you're the only woman in the world!

My first sales trainer:

• Expose yourself to the danger of success (ie, don't let fear of failure stop you trying).

My parents:

• People are much more interested in themselves than in you (this is great when you're feeling socially anxious.)
• Everything in moderation.
• Always ask yourself "Why?" Then ask yourself "Does it matter?"
• You can make a difference.

The best time to plant a tree is twenty years ago, the second best time is now.

Grandmother: Do the thing you don’t want to do first.
if you like people, they usually like you back.
Everthing passes.
Don’t go back.
Going out dressed up, do your best, then completely forget how you look for the rest of the time and think of others.

If you don't leave, you can't come back

Oops I do this a bit too often, I've become an avid clock watcher counting down the time til my freedom 😅 (yes mostly refering to work haha)

Love this, very wholesome @Misorchid

The hardest thing is keeping your mouth shut.

Run it off…

This literally cures most of my dramas.

In the same vein as this. When a big decision comes up, I say to myself would I regret not doing this? If the answer is yes then I do it. You can always come back/try something else.

If every tiny flower wanted to be a rose, spring would lose its loveliness.

I am going to have to steal your grandma's saying! Amazing!

You gotta make a decision
Leave tonight or live and die this way.

From Fast Car by Tracy Chapman. These words saved my life.

Love this ❤️

There are no wrong decisions. Just decide, and make that the right decision.

This is great!

Mine are:
“start from where you are” (my short version of the forget yesterday’s nonsense quote from RW Emerson)

“all of these things are your doing, and all of these things you can change” (the Ally McBeal take on “I am the Captain of my Fate…” quote)

Stolen from Cher who stole it from her mum:
Will it matter 5 days/weeks/months or years from now?
Then it doesn't matter now.

Your life shouldn't be something you feel the need to escape from

The lyrics of a song by the band The Fray 'Sometimes the hardest thing and the right thing are the same' have always stuck with me.

A ship is safest when it's in the harbour... but that's not what ships are for.

"It's better to be happy than to be right"
which basically means, stop fixating on being right in arguments, it's more important to be able to let it go and get along with people - i.e. be happy

Also a friend who has done some amazing things in her life, including completely changing her career, said that she goes by what she read / heard, when we were talking about lacking confidence: If you're only 2% confident, do it.

‘Never look back, walk tall, act fine’, from golden years by David Bowie, is one of my favourites.

And, ‘tomorrow is a new day, with no mistakes in it yet’ from Anne of Green Gables.

Look ahead to 3 weeks time when [insert difficult but transient problem] will be behind you.

Accept that you do need to worry about [insert worrying thing that you need to address] but put it away for the night and worry about it in the morning.

You don't have to do the whole [insert horrible task that you've been procrastinating over] in one go, just get 10 minutes done so you'll feel good about making a start.

It’s never too late to change direction. If something in your life isn’t making you happy, change it. Whatever your age.

I was gearing up to complain about something, and a friend told me to "turn the other cheek." I paused, and did just that. Some things just aren't worth it.

“This pain will be useful to you one day” - Ovid. Think it’s true if you go through difficult times it can make you more compassionate and understanding of others. Have found this to be true myself recently.