Tell me your life's top tip

[browniesandcakes]

I'll go first....

If you are feeling low, do something for someone else. Not because you have too, but because you can. I promise you will walk away feeling more inspired than you did before! Just be kind in life, it's so rewarding.

Do what your heart tells you. Don't listen to outer voices. People always put their perception on your life.

Agree with the china and handbag thing. Don't save everything nice 'for best'. Use it and enjoy it!

Don't expect loyalty in return.

Meditate for 20 minutes every day. Having a clear focused mind makes everything else easier

Take time to notice things. The world is a beautiful and interesting place, one million times more fascinating than whatever is happening on your phone.

Don't be too proud to admit you need help.

Be kind, thoughtful, caring but don't let people use you like a door matt. (I'm looking at you previous job that destroyed me)

Completely agree, use your nice things. I have 1 designer handbag and I use it the whole time! I also use the fancy soap (I had loads sitting there for 'something'), nice fluffy towels, glasses/ cups. I meet a lady from the states who had lost everything twice in bush fires she said use it!!

And stop drinking cheap wine!

Only ever buy the same brand and colour of socks

You don't know what's going on in a relationship from the outside. Only the people in it know that.

If you don't like your job or career, change it. If you can't change it, accept that and be as happy as you can. Trying to chage what you can't control drives you mad (as per @QuidditchThroughtheAges post)

Accepting that whatever you are like, there will be some people who don't like you, and that's OK.

To add another - it doesn't matter what other people think of you.

Be yourself, everyone else is taken.

Thank you all for contributing, some really good advice

Strive to be financially independent.

And make sure you post it to all your socials so everybody knows 🙃

NO...it's a powerful word that stops others taking advantage.

No is a complete sentence

If you have nothing nice to say, say nothing at all

Comparison is the thief of joy

Stop pandering to shit friends, lose them. You’ll be so much happier.

Its the little every day things that make for a happy life, not the holiday your waiting for. Embrace every day.

Go to a coffee shop alone to work, read a book or just people watch.

Higher quality, lower quantity clothes…

Sweaty Betty leggings.

This is just not true.

Well, yes, there are some things you can reframe, but some things are just fucking awful and trying to reframe or deny that will just drive you fucking bonkers, and make you miserable from the inevitable failure. Some things you just have to learn to accept have been part of your life, you have to find a way to accept and live with them having been, or still being, a part of your life.. But you don't need to lie to yourself that they weren't really fucking awful, or worse still, conceptualise yourself as a failure because you failed to do so.

Eat the frog.

If you have something you've been avoiding or putting off 'eat the frog'
Just do it and get it out of the way

I love this!

If you find it hard to change even your own behaviour, don’t delude yourself you will be able to change someone else’s.

Only give what you want to give, and don’t expect reciprocity. If you get it, it’s a nice bonus but if you can’t give something away without expecting something back all you are “gifting” to people is obligation or your future resentment.

Charming is not something someone is, it’s something someone does.

Treat yourself with the kindness, patience, and generosity you would want other people to treat you with in your ideal world. Eventually people will learn from your example.

Look up

Every soup or stew can be improved by making a single onion "smoothie" and mixing in 5 mins before the end of cooking time. Improved my cooking massively.

Only little things to add to the wise words on here:

Don't answer a phone when you know you haven't got time for the conversation. People will only get huffy at being rushed off and if it's important, they'll ring again. It's only on TV that you can have a 3 sentence conversation and end the call!

Think twice before sharing confidences with others - even close friends. What's said can't be unsaid. Similarly don't believe that people are always after complete honesty when asking your opinion about some things: hair, clothes, weight etc. If someone's just had their hair cut and it doesn't suit them, for God's sake don't say so until it's grown out and then you can safely say 'Oh actually, it suits you better now than when it was short!'.

Treat everyone with respect until they give you cause not to...rather than the other way around. Some people think everyone has to earn respect, but I think we should be respectful as a default and only withdraw it if given cause.

Do the clearing up after a party before you go to bed! Sufficient unto the day is the mess thereof, or something. I've never regretted staying up another hour to sort out mess. It's actually restful and therapeutic and when you get up next day, you start with a clean slate.

Love the age you are. Honestly, as long as you have your health there is little to fear from getting older. You gain wisdom and confidence and if you go for style and elegance rather than chasing fashion and eternal youth, you'll look great.

Ask people about themselves (new people and old friends). They will love you for it! If you're naturally shy (like me) just think up a few questions in advance and even practise them. If you're shy, it's the best way to get other people to do the talking!

@Truepostromance agreed. @Oestrogelsmuggler this isn't Shakespeare stating this philosophy but is Hamlet speaking, who is going quite mad at the time, so it's not really an inspiring quotation from the play but is perhaps intended to make the audience think quite the opposite. Some things are inherently pretty shitty: the death of a child, loss of a friend, etc. Yes, we may move through tragedy, but I hate this phrase because it suggests 'mind over matter' which usually doesn't work.