I wouldn’t dare defile Douglas Adam’s memory by not mentioning that you should keep a towel with you at all times, but my second contender is a surprisingly short three-parter:
- never lie.
- never tell the whole truth.
- never pass up a chance to use a real bathroom.
Listen or act like you’re listening. People love the validation that comes with being given undivided attention. The opposite is also true.
But also actually listen because if people uncover your acting like listening routine, they’ll hate you for it
This is great advice. It’s not difficult once you get good at it; but there’s nothing quite like the feeling of being in a real two-way conversation where you know the other person is actually listening to what you’re saying, not just hearing the sounds. I feel like I can count on both hands the number of real conversations I’ve had where I felt truly respected and heard.
Think before you speak, I speak without thinking and it’s got me in trouble for petty things. Using WE over YOU is extremely valuable… even when you had nothing to do with the problem it is OUR problem.
“We” should vacuum the house! *wink* *wink*
I’ve found that one of the best ways to ensure I think before I speak, is to pause before I speak.
A wise teacher told me to carry a bottle of water, always.
Nobody will stop you from taking a sip, which is really an excuse to pause.
Slow is smooth and smooth is fast.
Ride smooth not fast has won me some mountain bike races.
I first heard it in the context of carpentry, but I’ve since heard it in kitchens as well.
“Fast” is the biggest number in a straight line. Life rarely offers straight lines.
you can be skilled at cornering too, that will make you faster on them
It’s true, but you need the skill, and buying an expensive car will only get you so far.
Every line is straight in a subset of coordinate systems.
Hydrate. Stick to water.
kidney stones are NOT nice.
drink water removed, your body needs that shit
My wife, who gave two births, was in a car accident and fought through hell to survive, still rate kidney stones as the most painful thing in her life.
I said would she rather take a bullet to the leg? She said she’d take two over a kidney stone.
All of this can be resolved just by drinking water.
Be kind
Simple and to the point, everyone should know and follow this. One of the best pieces of advice from the Dalai Lama
“Our prime purpose in this life is to help others. And if you can’t help them, at least don’t hurt them.”
I prefer the words of the Dalton Lama: “Be nice. Until it’s time … to not be nice.”
Dalai Lama also wanted to tongue kiss a little boy on camera. What else can we learn from him? Getting on CIA payroll and selling away morals?
Rewind
No matter how kind you are, the German children are kinder.
Don’t be an asshole.
Never take time for granted - expect you’ll have less of it than you want or need.
It can really help with getting priorities straight - whether that’s with work or with your personal life. Where is it exactly you want to spend the most valuable and limited resource you have? Your time?
Do not, and I can’t stress this enough! Put your dick, in crazy…
But I can fix them!!!
↖️This is the real life pro-tip right here
…at least, not until after the vasectomy.
Leave it better than you found it.
Goes for your home, your neighborhood, or something you’ve borrowed. It can be applied to the planet, the beach, the trail, the car, the job.
Hell, it even goes for people. Leave them a little happier, a little wiser, a little more prosperous than before.
Second rule, give people the benefit of the doubt and don’t attribute an action as the person. Did they cut you off on the road? They’re having a bad day and made a mistake. They’re speeding? Maybe they are on the way to see a loved one without much longer to live. Don’t call someone an asshole just because they made an asshole move. People are so much more than that one interaction with them.
Funny enough, these have analogs in programming!
Leave it better than you found it.
The Boyscouts rule! Clean up bad code if you can!
Second rule, give people the benefit of the doubt and don’t attribute an action as the person.
Sometimes you gotta write janky code to meet a deadline. That is not a personal failure. And give folks a break who do it too.
No-one has ever said on their deathbed, “I only wish I worked more”
I know of at least one person who might have actually said that, were he not busy working from the hospital when he died. People don’t say that because no one who enjoys working somehow failed to find work to do.
I’m not sure what you’re saying, but if a person worked with saving other peoples lives, then perhaps I could be wrong.
What I meant is that there are people who genuinely enjoy their work above all else. Those are the people who might say they wished they spent more time at work. However, there is rarely anything keeping them from work that they don’t also value. If a person enjoys working, there’s very little preventing them from working.
I like to turn that one around and say: nobody says on their death bed that they regret spending so much time with their kids.
Evaluate how much something matters based on 1 day, 1 month, 1 year.
I.E. How upset should you be over [Thing]? Will it matter in one day? One month? One year? That helps perspective a bunch. You can use any variation of time really, the point is perspective
Came here to say this. Always a good piece of solid advice IMO
If it sounds too good to be true - it probably is.
If everywhere you go smells like shit, check your shoes.
So is this intended as kind of a metaphor or is this mainly aimed at people who have literally stepped in real shit?
It’s both
Both. It’s like the saying “Governing a big country is like cooking small fish.” (With the explanation that if you keep poking it, it’ll disintegrate) also taught me how to cook fish as well as realpolitik.
The fish advice was most useful.
It’s a metaphor for people who smell whipped cream all the time, they should check on top of their head.
If everyone around you is an asshole, you’re the asshole.
This is a metaphor for life in general. If you find that all your interactions are negative, check yourself. Are you the problem in your relationships and interactions? How can you fix that? Clean your shoes.
Pretty sure its a metaphor for being an asshole
Every failure is a success, if you learn from your mistakes
underrated, appreciate you bruv
I failed the saving throw and now I’m dead. Thanks a lot jerk
You need to sleep.
