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?

“Ditch him and move to London”. Older lady a total stranger to me at a party. I was in my twenties living in my home city with my ex. I did both and it was brilliant advice!

You can’t control other people’s behaviour, only your own reaction to it.
Helped me a lot when I was made redundant a few years ago and my ex employers behaved very poorly.

When everything feels black, go to bed. Lots of similar sayings on this thread- usually things always seem a bit brighter and clearer after a good night’s sleep.

You have to make a new normal. Said to me after my mum died suddenly and I was a little bit lost in the world.

Don't chase people to be your friend, partner etc...

The right people will come & will stay.

You cannot change other people's behaviour, only how you react to the behviour. (A very hard one to come to terms with).

Sometimes the best decision is not to make a decision (friend advising me not to be hasty trying to solve a personal issue but take time to reflect and let time pass)

Don't stick beans up your nose (my dad).

And my all time favourite:
Life moves pretty fast.If you don't stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it.
Ferris Beuler’s day off.

My daughter has just headed out for her first driving lesson. I just quoted your quote to her as she was very nervous!

To add to your dad’s words of wisdom

”Always wipe up a weetabix spill immediately. Unless you have a chisel close by”

❤️ I hope it went well!!

It did! Thank you! Looks like she paid heed to the advice!

People are either radiators or drains. Love that

Along a similar vein - Plan B is just Plan A with a raincoat.

Love this, I need to remind myself of this.

Said by a dance teacher to a group of teen students about to embark on their auditions for full-time training, about what to do if they make a mistake during the audition:

If you go wrong, go wrong with style!

When taking your driving test, drive smoothly and calmly as if you were driving the Queen; that way the examiner will feel confident in your driving and is more likely to pass you. If you drive nervously the examiner will start to nitpick.

"I just tell myself i mustn't have one, and that's that."Thats one I'm going to remember..thank you

‘Take the emotion out of it’
and
‘It is what it is’

both get me through xx

I remember coming home from school or college in a state one day. I'd been kicked off a course, was in the middle of a falling-out with a friend and dealing with an injury that was preventing me from taking part in my favorite sport.

Cue inconsolable teenage breakdown. Usually mum would deal with this kind of stuff, but my old man stepped up, put his arm around me and dropped these words of wisdom.

"No matter how bad life gets, there's always some poor bastard worse off than you."

Silly as it is, it's got me through some trying times!

Sometimes when you're in a dark place you think you've been buried, but actually you've been planted.

"Accept this as being part of your life's journey".

This was said to me by a very dear friend, and it makes difficult situations so much easier to bear.

I love this one, and it's what I need to keep repeating. Another one my neighbour said yesterday in regards to another neighbour was, some people need to look inwards before they look out! Meaning said neighbour should sort out her own shortcomings and actions before making an issue about someone else's. X

Never mistake confidence for compétence, or humility for weakness.

"You're not paid enough to worry about that."

Said to me with a shrug by a kind older colleague during my first job fresh out of uni.
I was entirely unsuited to it (it was very complicated, multi-step admin work, with umpteen different potential variables) and would worry about it a lot at home. I confided in this colleague during lunch once, and her reply has stuck with me for almost 20 years.

This reminds me of a tv series I saw ages ago about an absolutely rubbish nanny who was constantly messing up. She made a major mistake and was terrified of being fired and having nowhere to go. She was sobbing about how she was shit at everything and the mother said something along the lines of, she didn't expect her to be perfect at everything, 'just be less shit'.

Some days, aspiring to be 'less shit' is all one can expect!

I live by two matras.
1st is about flying. I used to get really nervous but then back in the 1990's I watched how the Spice Girls were flying all over the world like taking a bus. So whenever I take the plane,i think of this!

Secondly whatever happens and even if I make a howler of a mistake or misjudge a situation. I try and wait a few days before acting and I use everything as a learning experience instead of beating myself up.

Basically the matra less is more.