to ask what the best piece of advice you've been given was?

[GabrielleChanel]

What would you do differently?

I was just coming on to post that, @myfurloughedfriend! My DDad used to say it, and he was very wise.

Never argue with stupid.....

No is a complete sentence

Not really advice but I like to reframe things sometimes
For example - oh no I've got to go to work
To ' I get to go to work'
Some people don't have that option. Dont forget how lucky you are.

Always stand on your own two feet.

Dad meant not only financial independence, but also being able to rely on yourself emotionally to get out of a bad situation.

I've made plenty of mistakes, but because of always standing on my own two feet, I've always been able to either rectify my mistake on my own or walk away from it.

@Icantfindanewname

Drive like everyone else is a bloody idiot. Thanks Dad.

Yep!! I was just going to post that!!

No one gives you a medal at the end of birth for not taking any pain relief

Drive like everyone else is a bloody idiot. Thanks Dad

That was my father’s advice as well. His version was, “always drive with the assumption that every other driver is a homicidal maniac and every pedestrian is a suicidal maniac. If you stick to that you should be largely OK”

@Gibbonsgibbonsgibbons

This too shall pass

It's generally HATED on MN, but it's certainly got me through a few things!

A pretty good one for the current situation too!

The people you need on the way up, you might need on the way down

Bit harsh from my grandad that one but a reminder to be respectful to all

Must be a dad thing, my dad always warns me to 'watch out for the idiots on the road' before I leave their house.

Always listen to advice because it might be worth listening to. You don’t have to take it

Take one day at a time and don't look too far into the future, this from my mum when i was divorcing.

Put your own oxygen mask on first.

Dont set yourself on fire to keep others warm

You are responsible for what you say.....
.. They are responsible for how they respond...

I would often not say things as concerned about how others would react... Even if it was in my best interests to do so..

"When you find a man, do not look at his rich, do not look at his handsome; look at how he treats his mother and his sisters. This is how he will treat you."

Said to me by a total stranger in the street whose first language was not English but his words have stuck with me verbatim and served me well for more than 20 years (I met DH about a month later).

Love many, trust few and always paddle your own canoe

When I was feeling really low to have something to look forward to. Also chamomile is really good for anxiety and ginger helps nausea.

Judge someone by their actions and not by their words (I still have to remind myself of that!)

You're stronger than you think - at first when times are tough, you can count the difficult time in seconds, soon it will be minutes, then it will be hours and one day, you will look back and not even be able to say how many days it was

'A great deal of life is very dull, the trick is to make the best of things, especially the little things.'
This was said to me by an older lady who I was volunteering with in a charity shop. I was 22, between jobs, heartbroken and a bit lost. Shortly after she made me a cup of tea with a Marie biscuit, for a treat .
I have never forgotten that lady, that cup of tea or her advice

Never under any circumstances take a sleeping pill and a laxative on the same night

A baby can't fall off the floor. Very practical advice.

Don’t forget that saucepans have outsides!! Said my DM on my first job washing up in a restaurant. It’s stayed with me.

Silence is golden, attentiveness is even better.

Don't have a wishbone where a backbone should be.

At work - don't hope it will be okay, make sure it will be ok.

In most situations you struggle with you either need to be kind or be brave. The trick is knowing which one.

You make your own luck.