Nate
We’ve all gotten useless advice from someone but it’s worth a try before writing them off. It may not be the best advice but there’s always someone that’s gone through what you’re going through so hear them out. It could be anything from “You should try therapy” to “Start using a Squatty Potty“.
What felt like a useless piece of advice until you actually tried it?
1.
My dad always told me, ‘Ask anyway, the worst they can say is no’ when I needed something. Turns out that advice has helped me with school, raises, plans with new friends, and with people in general.
2.
‘Compliment people behind their backs.’ This sounds stupid, but it works WONDERS.
3.
‘Keep your shoulders back.’ It was a suggestion I saw for preventing panic/anxiety. I don’t know what it is, but when your shoulders are in that position it gives some strange feeling of control. It works for me, so it could work for you, too.
4.
‘There’s what you need, there’s what you want, and there’s what you can’t afford.’ My dad says this all the time and, while I never though of it as useless, I never used it. Now that I have started following this, managing my money is far easier.
5.
‘Your gums bleed when you floss because you don’t floss enough.’ It sounds like something dentists just say, but it turns out if you floss enough, your gums won’t be inflamed so they don’t bleed.
6.
My grandfather told me this and I never understood it until I had my own place: ‘Always buy cheap tools at first and, if you wear them out, then you use them enough to justify getting a nicer set.’
7.
‘Put cold water on freshly shaved skin and it will make it so you don’t get ingrown hairs.’ This seems incredibly simple, but it’s still some of the best advice I’ve ever received.
8.
As someone with a phobia of needles my entire life, I finally had a nurse tell me to ‘ask for a spare alcohol pad and sniff it’ right as I’m about to get jabbed. She said the harsh smell is enough of a distraction to keep your mind off the needle. It worked! I’ve been doing it ever since.
9.
Someone once told me, ‘Clean your house before leaving for more than five days.’ Truly, nothing is better than coming back to a clean house.
10.
On my wedding day my grandmother said to me, ‘Never do anything around the house that you don’t plan on doing for life.’ At the time I thought it was a terrible advice but, when I was mowing the lawn at seven and a half months pregnant, I got what she meant.
11.
In regards to saving money I was always told, ‘Pay your bills, pay yourself (i.e., put money in savings), then spend.’
12.
‘You’re not hungry, you’re thirsty!’ I would eat a big meal and wonder why I still felt hungry afterwards, but it was because I wasn’t drinking a glass of water with my meals. Now, if I notice I’m hungry after eating a normal portion, I have a glass of water and wait five minutes before I eat more.
13.
Someone once told me NOT to take my cellphone into bed with me/to charge it away from my bed. After a while I found I slept much easier without the distraction and the blue light shining straight into my eyes right before bed.
14.
‘Try killing roaches with soapy water in a spray bottle.’ It sounds completely useless, but it works better than any insecticide I’ve ever tried AND it’s nontoxic/really easy to clean up.
15.
‘Stick to the same sleep schedule on your days off that you follow on days when you have to be somewhere.’ I spent my whole life sleeping until noon on weekends thinking I was storing sleep in some imaginary sleep bank. I recently started waking up early on weekends and now I have no trouble waking up when my alarm goes off during the week.
16.
‘When you can’t choose between two things, flip a coin and choose the one you’re hoping for.’ Half the time I don’t even have to flip a coin now and I’m way more decisive!
17.
I had a problem looking at people’s shoulders while they were speaking instead of in their eyes. I told a coworker about it, who told me, ‘Just look at their ears, nobody can tell the difference.’ Life-changing, seriously — no one can tell the difference.”
18.
My mom told me to spend ‘good’ money on the things that ‘separate you from the ground.’ So tires, shoes, mattresses, etc. I finally bought good, expensive shoes and life was SIGNIFICANTLY better. They last SO much longer and my back and posture improved, too.
19.
Go to therapy.’ I always considered myself ’emotionally stable,’ so I thought it was a pointless idea. I went once with my ex-girlfriend in order to try and work out problems in our relationship, but I learned so much about myself and got some amazing life advice. 10/10.
20.
“Put on your own oxygen mask first.’ Like they tell you on an airplane, you can’t help anyone effectively if you’re not first okay yourself. I was always self-sacrificing — to the point of being hospitalized once for exhaustion. A great therapist told me that I’m good at helping, but I have to be at least at a baseline before I’m effective.
21.
‘Don’t suffer future pain.’ In other words, worrying about all the stuff that could happen stops you from doing things, or worse, turns potential pain into actual mental pain.
22.
I’m not great at this one, but “don’t look for a happy life, look for happy moments”.
23.
Using a stool to lift my feet into a squatting position to poo. What a difference!
24.
Unpack your suitcase the second you get home.
25.
Go to the bathroom first thing after having sex.