# Best piece of (seemingly small) advice you've ever been given. **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [May 26, 2006, 10:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-piece-of-seemingly-small-advice-youve-ever-been-given/358382 "2006-05-26T22:52:51Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/qadgop_the_mercotan/32/83_2.png) [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qadgop_the_Mercotan)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2006, 2:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-piece-of-seemingly-small-advice-youve-ever-been-given/358382/41 "2006-05-27T14:06:08Z")
From my attending Pediatric Neurosurgeon back when I was a resident rotating thru our local Children’s Hospital, after I made a flip comment: > [@](#): > > Qadgop, nobody likes a smartass. ---
**Author:** ![CairaJade](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f04885/32.png) [@CairaJade](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CairaJade)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2006, 2:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-piece-of-seemingly-small-advice-youve-ever-been-given/358382/42 "2006-05-27T14:08:47Z")
From my late best friend: “Be deliberate.” Seems simple and obvious, but sometimes saying that to myself helps me make clear and firm decisions, rather than just accidenally falling into situations that I’d rather not be in. I can’t remember this word for word, but the gist of what my grandmother use to tell my mom when she was getting ready for a big date, prom, etc, and what my mom told me: “You’ve spent the last few hours on yourself getting ready. Now you’re ready and you look great. Now go have fun, be yourself, and don’t think of how you look any more for the rest of the night.” I remember my mom saying it much more elegantly though. Very good advice for having a good time and being confident instead of all wrapped up in appearances. ---
**Author:** ![don\_t\_ask](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e68b1a/32.png) [@don\_t\_ask](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/don_t_ask)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2006, 2:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-piece-of-seemingly-small-advice-youve-ever-been-given/358382/43 "2006-05-27T14:14:42Z")
Put down the gun…NOW!!!..SLOWLY…now step away… ---
**Author:** ![BoBettie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/4af34b/32.png) [@BoBettie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BoBettie)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2006, 2:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-piece-of-seemingly-small-advice-youve-ever-been-given/358382/44 "2006-05-27T14:15:37Z")
From a good friend during a rough patch in my marriage: Never turn against each other. It’s served me well for a long time and is a great reminder of the team a marriage partnership is supposed to be. ---
**Author:** ![NinjaChick](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/71c47a/32.png) [@NinjaChick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NinjaChick)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2006, 2:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-piece-of-seemingly-small-advice-youve-ever-been-given/358382/45 "2006-05-27T14:28:39Z")
From a tae kwon do instructor: “Don’t stop after screwing up. Find your next move, keep going, and finish what you started.” He was talking about what to do if you made a mistake doing a pattern at a belt promotion, but it pretty much applies to life in general. ---
**Author:** ![PunditLisa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/4af34b/32.png) [@PunditLisa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PunditLisa)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2006, 2:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-piece-of-seemingly-small-advice-youve-ever-been-given/358382/46 "2006-05-27T14:54:00Z")
From my high school biology teacher (after my boyfriend broke up with me): "Darlin’, there’s no sense worrying about something you can’t change. " And he was right. ---
**Author:** ![PunditLisa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/4af34b/32.png) [@PunditLisa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PunditLisa)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2006, 2:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-piece-of-seemingly-small-advice-youve-ever-been-given/358382/47 "2006-05-27T14:56:43Z")
> [@Jennshark](#): > > “The better part of valor is discretion.” Apologies if it is mis-quoted. You’ve got the sentiment correct, but the quote is actually: “Discretion is the better part of valor.” -Shakespeare 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Annie-Xmas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecc23a/32.png) [@Annie-Xmas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie-Xmas)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2006, 3:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-piece-of-seemingly-small-advice-youve-ever-been-given/358382/48 "2006-05-27T15:12:43Z")
> [@Qadgop the Mercotan](#): > > From my attending Pediatric Neurosurgeon back when I was a resident rotating thru our local Children’s Hospital, after I made a flip comment: Similarly from an employment counselor: You can type 200 wpm, know every computer program in the world, do everything right the first time and be willing to work twice as hard for half as much, but nobody is going to want to be around you if you’re a jerk. ---
**Author:** ![Waverly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/57b2e6/32.png) [@Waverly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Waverly)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2006, 3:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-piece-of-seemingly-small-advice-youve-ever-been-given/358382/49 "2006-05-27T15:47:19Z")
It’s not necessarily advice, but it’s a statement my boss use to make that really set a good frame of reference when things got screwed up. “It was what it is.” It’s a bit like “water under the bridge” but not as fatalist and passive. It always meant, “I won’t waste any more time trying to figure out who fucked up and how. Let’s assess the situation itself, and begin dealing with it.” I dunno if sounds very profound just in the retelling. You might have to have been there. ---
**Author:** ![ianzin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/ed655f/32.png) [@ianzin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ianzin)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2006, 5:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-piece-of-seemingly-small-advice-youve-ever-been-given/358382/50 "2006-05-27T17:33:20Z")
People can’t give you the answer if you don’t ask the question. Good manners cost nothing. Things don’t really go wrong. They sometimes go _differently_. Enjoy life. You’ll be a long time dead. ---
**Author:** ![FilmGeek](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/b19c9b/32.png) [@FilmGeek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FilmGeek)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2006, 5:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-piece-of-seemingly-small-advice-youve-ever-been-given/358382/51 "2006-05-27T17:41:07Z")
> [@Booker57](#): > > Never force a fart. > > Simple and to the point. I failed to heed this advice last week. It went something like: 🙂 :eek: :rolleyes: :smack: ---
**Author:** ![Stark\_Raven\_Mad](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f9ae1b/32.png) [@Stark\_Raven\_Mad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stark_Raven_Mad)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2006, 5:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-piece-of-seemingly-small-advice-youve-ever-been-given/358382/52 "2006-05-27T17:44:50Z")
> [@FilmGeek](#): > > I failed to heed this advice last week. > > It went something like: 🙂 :eek: :rolleyes: :smack: As did [Ms. Silverman](http://youtube.com/watch?v=8iPqFfz6gII), here. ---
**Author:** ![NoPretentiousCodename](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/82dd89/32.png) [@NoPretentiousCodename](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NoPretentiousCodename)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2006, 5:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-piece-of-seemingly-small-advice-youve-ever-been-given/358382/53 "2006-05-27T17:50:41Z")
First pants, THEN your shoes. ---
**Author:** ![FlyingRat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/59ef9b/32.png) [@FlyingRat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FlyingRat)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2006, 6:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-piece-of-seemingly-small-advice-youve-ever-been-given/358382/54 "2006-05-27T18:49:22Z")
> [@Waverly](#): > > It’s not necessarily advice, but it’s a statement my boss use to make that really set a good frame of reference when things got screwed up. > > “It was what it is.” > > It’s a bit like “water under the bridge” but not as fatalist and passive. It always meant, “I won’t waste any more time trying to figure out who fucked up and how. Let’s assess the situation itself, and begin dealing with it.” > > I dunno if sounds very profound just in the retelling. You might have to have been there. My husband taught me a very similar thing, in Japanese: _Shikataganai._ I don’t know the exact translation, but it carries a similar connotation of “there’s nothing to be done about it now, so there’s no point in worrying about it”. For a worrywart like me, it’s become somewhat of a mantra… ---
**Author:** ![Tristan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tristan/32/18058_2.png) [@Tristan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tristan)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2006, 7:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-piece-of-seemingly-small-advice-youve-ever-been-given/358382/55 "2006-05-27T19:00:21Z")
About a year ago, I was fretting about trying to decide to go to school (I’m 30 at this time, with 3 kids). I wasn’t a good student in school, despite being able to correct most folks essay’s on their facts, and walking all over everyone (including, notably, my 9th grade Social Studies teacher) in anything related to History. So I’m discussing it with one of my best friends, and his advice to me, given offhand in between sips of a drink was this: “He who dares, wins.” **sip** “Go to school.” Since then, I’ve taken the whole Daring and Winning thing to heart. I’ll be moving this summer, something I would have been terrified to do before, but am now excited about. You can’t get anywhere in life if you’re not willing to take the occasional risk. ---
**Author:** ![jjimm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba8739/32.png) [@jjimm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jjimm)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2006, 7:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-piece-of-seemingly-small-advice-youve-ever-been-given/358382/56 "2006-05-27T19:11:03Z")
Not advice so much as a philosophical direction, but the older I get, the more relevant some of the basic tenets of Buddhism seem to be. I don’t believe in the religious aspects: reincarnation, karma, Nirvana, etc., but the following ideas seem to be very wise:[ul][li]Freedom from desire will facilitate contentment[/li][li]You will never be perfect at anything, but keep aiming - Zen again[/li][li]Life is a suffering sea, so delight and take pleasure where you can[/li]Everything is impermanent - Zen gardening that gets raked over every evening, Tibetan Buddhist mandala work that takes months to make and is then symbolically destroyed[/ul]These all seem much better ways of preparing oneself for life’s slings and arrows than the general ideas with which I was brought up. ---
**Author:** ![Gala\_Matrix\_Fire](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/4da419/32.png) [@Gala\_Matrix\_Fire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gala_Matrix_Fire)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2006, 7:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-piece-of-seemingly-small-advice-youve-ever-been-given/358382/57 "2006-05-27T19:24:00Z")
Don’t ask the question if you don’t want to hear the answer. ---
**Author:** ![Shoeless](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/shoeless/32/7099_2.png) [@Shoeless](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shoeless)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2006, 7:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-piece-of-seemingly-small-advice-youve-ever-been-given/358382/58 "2006-05-27T19:36:54Z")
My best friend gave me the following bit of advice on my wedding day: “_Never_ call her a bitch.” ---
**Author:** ![jjimm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba8739/32.png) [@jjimm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jjimm)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2006, 8:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-piece-of-seemingly-small-advice-youve-ever-been-given/358382/59 "2006-05-27T20:13:00Z")
I just realised that I reordered my bullet points so that “Zen again” makes no sense. “Always hit ‘Preview’” is a good one, then. A friend of mine also said once: “For a good relationship, never start a discussion with the words ‘You always…’.” I’ve also heard “If you don’t want to get hit, never start a sentence with the word ‘Pal…’.” And “If hit, run away as fast as you can. If you can’t run, curl up into a ball.” ---
**Author:** ![dangermom](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e274bd/32.png) [@dangermom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dangermom)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2006, 8:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-piece-of-seemingly-small-advice-youve-ever-been-given/358382/60 "2006-05-27T20:20:20Z")
Cranberry pills will help prevent UTIs. I am forever grateful to the nurse who told me that. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-piece-of-seemingly-small-advice-youve-ever-been-given/358382.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-piece-of-seemingly-small-advice-youve-ever-been-given/358382.md?page=4)