# If you had ONE piece of advice to give to others based on a mistake what would it be? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [October 9, 2008, 8:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-had-one-piece-of-advice-to-give-to-others-based-on-a-mistake-what-would-it-be/467224 "2008-10-09T20:34:55Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Sleeps\_With\_Butterflies](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/bb73d2/32.png) [@Sleeps\_With\_Butterflies](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sleeps_With_Butterflies)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2008, 6:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-had-one-piece-of-advice-to-give-to-others-based-on-a-mistake-what-would-it-be/467224/41 "2008-10-10T06:50:24Z")
Not everyone who says they are your friend actually is your friend. Time is too valuable to waste on people who don’t treat you right. ---
**Author:** ![Polerius](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/d78d45/32.png) [@Polerius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Polerius)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2008, 6:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-had-one-piece-of-advice-to-give-to-others-based-on-a-mistake-what-would-it-be/467224/42 "2008-10-10T06:51:35Z")
LIFE IS SHORT. Do as much as you possibly can (accomplish as much as you can, have as much fun as you can) when you are young. People should be constantly reminded of this, because this is one of those things that, by the time you realize it by yourself, it’s almost always too late to use the lesson you just figured out. ---
**Author:** ![Black\_Train\_Song](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/4da419/32.png) [@Black\_Train\_Song](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Black_Train_Song)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2008, 6:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-had-one-piece-of-advice-to-give-to-others-based-on-a-mistake-what-would-it-be/467224/43 "2008-10-10T06:58:11Z")
be yourself completely…everything else will fall into place. ---
**Author:** ![Siege](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/dbc845/32.png) [@Siege](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siege)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2008, 11:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-had-one-piece-of-advice-to-give-to-others-based-on-a-mistake-what-would-it-be/467224/44 "2008-10-10T11:04:43Z")
When you make a mistake, remember, odds are you’re not the first one to have made it. Others have gone before you, gotten through it, and will probably even know how to fix it or deal with it. Listen to them. That one’s based on a lifetime of mistakes, big and small, mine and others. There’s some excellent advice in this thread! ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2008, 11:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-had-one-piece-of-advice-to-give-to-others-based-on-a-mistake-what-would-it-be/467224/45 "2008-10-10T11:07:31Z")
Few situations are improved by panic. Think before acting, _especially_ when it’s urgent. ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2008, 11:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-had-one-piece-of-advice-to-give-to-others-based-on-a-mistake-what-would-it-be/467224/46 "2008-10-10T11:12:20Z")
When figuring out what to study/apprentice yourself into, the most important factor is “what will it let me do.” Not how much the jobs it leads to make, or how prestigious they are, or how your parents feel about them, but whether it leads to more than one job which you’ll be able to live with for forty years. ---
**Author:** ![Sami41](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c57346/32.png) [@Sami41](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sami41)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2008, 11:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-had-one-piece-of-advice-to-give-to-others-based-on-a-mistake-what-would-it-be/467224/47 "2008-10-10T11:33:11Z")
Take good care of your credit and your teeth. They’re both easy to take for granted (and to take care of) when you’re young. They’re also both very painful, expensive, and hard to fix once you’ve ruined them. ---
**Author:** ![Count\_Blucher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/c5a1d2/32.png) [@Count\_Blucher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Count_Blucher)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2008, 11:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-had-one-piece-of-advice-to-give-to-others-based-on-a-mistake-what-would-it-be/467224/48 "2008-10-10T11:50:50Z")
Never do ‘flaming shots’. Ever. ---
**Author:** ![Oregon\_sunshine](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/50afbb/32.png) [@Oregon\_sunshine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Oregon_sunshine)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2008, 12:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-had-one-piece-of-advice-to-give-to-others-based-on-a-mistake-what-would-it-be/467224/49 "2008-10-10T12:21:44Z")
There is no “us” and “them”. ---
**Author:** ![Dung\_Beetle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dung_beetle/32/7945_2.png) [@Dung\_Beetle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dung_Beetle)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2008, 12:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-had-one-piece-of-advice-to-give-to-others-based-on-a-mistake-what-would-it-be/467224/50 "2008-10-10T12:35:53Z")
> [@Rich\_Mann](#): > > When you get a ‘funny feeling’ that something is wrong or that you should or shouldn’t do a certain thing, that’s your unconscious mind trying to tell you something important. This could have changed my life. ---
**Author:** ![PaulParkhead](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/7ea924/32.png) [@PaulParkhead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PaulParkhead)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2008, 12:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-had-one-piece-of-advice-to-give-to-others-based-on-a-mistake-what-would-it-be/467224/51 "2008-10-10T12:44:02Z")
> [@PeskiPiksi](#): > > Trust your instincts. If you have a feeling he’s cheating on you, even if you have no concrete proof, he probably is. Hmm. I got caught on the wrong end of this one once. I wasn’t cheating - the idea hadn’t even crossed my mind. She was convinced I was. It ended in divorce. ---
**Author:** ![PaulParkhead](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/7ea924/32.png) [@PaulParkhead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PaulParkhead)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2008, 12:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-had-one-piece-of-advice-to-give-to-others-based-on-a-mistake-what-would-it-be/467224/52 "2008-10-10T12:47:59Z")
Anyhow, my advice would be: there may not, in fact, be time to do it later. ---
**Author:** ![Prelude\_to\_Fascination](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/a183cd/32.png) [@Prelude\_to\_Fascination](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Prelude_to_Fascination)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2008, 1:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-had-one-piece-of-advice-to-give-to-others-based-on-a-mistake-what-would-it-be/467224/53 "2008-10-10T13:20:14Z")
Think ahead. ---
**Author:** ![SaharaTea](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e9a140/32.png) [@SaharaTea](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SaharaTea)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2008, 2:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-had-one-piece-of-advice-to-give-to-others-based-on-a-mistake-what-would-it-be/467224/54 "2008-10-10T14:32:26Z")
Don’t start smoking. Do not get a credit card with a $20,000 limit when you’re a 18-yr-old college student with no income. The results could have you chained to a miserable job for years in the future. Don’t hope that one day he’ll change. If you’re unhappy, leave now. ---
**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:** [October 10, 2008, 2:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-had-one-piece-of-advice-to-give-to-others-based-on-a-mistake-what-would-it-be/467224/55 "2008-10-10T14:38:01Z")
Don’t fuck with other people’s money, other people’s time & other people’s people and you will avoid about 85% of the problems in life. ---
**Author:** ![CookingWithGas](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cookingwithgas/32/485_2.png) [@CookingWithGas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CookingWithGas)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2008, 2:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-had-one-piece-of-advice-to-give-to-others-based-on-a-mistake-what-would-it-be/467224/56 "2008-10-10T14:39:55Z")
Start saving money the minute you get your first job. Compound interest is magic. ---
**Author:** ![emmaliminal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7bcc69/32.png) [@emmaliminal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/emmaliminal)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2008, 2:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-had-one-piece-of-advice-to-give-to-others-based-on-a-mistake-what-would-it-be/467224/57 "2008-10-10T14:45:06Z")
Be open to changing your mind. Think back to things you believed strongly when you were younger and don’t anymore, major or minor (“I look good in a perm,” for instance). You might be believing something _right now_ that you’ll think is ridiculous ten years from now. ---
**Author:** ![mudkicker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d6d6ee/32.png) [@mudkicker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mudkicker)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2008, 2:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-had-one-piece-of-advice-to-give-to-others-based-on-a-mistake-what-would-it-be/467224/58 "2008-10-10T14:48:30Z")
> [@Chimera](#): > > If you walk through a forest of red flags for love, you’ll be beaten with every single one of those red flags on the way out. This is brilliant. Also, if he punches the wall, or screams at you over nothing, that temper isn’t going anywhere. But you should. ---
**Author:** ![even\_sven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/dfb087/32.png) [@even\_sven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/even_sven)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2008, 3:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-had-one-piece-of-advice-to-give-to-others-based-on-a-mistake-what-would-it-be/467224/59 "2008-10-10T15:00:16Z")
Buy that plane ticket. It will change your life. ---
**Author:** ![masterofnone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4bbf92/32.png) [@masterofnone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/masterofnone)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2008, 3:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-had-one-piece-of-advice-to-give-to-others-based-on-a-mistake-what-would-it-be/467224/60 "2008-10-10T15:11:32Z")
Advice from my father when I was building a house (But applicable to many other situations): Listen carefully when people give you advice on how to do something, then do whatever the hell you want. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-had-one-piece-of-advice-to-give-to-others-based-on-a-mistake-what-would-it-be/467224.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-had-one-piece-of-advice-to-give-to-others-based-on-a-mistake-what-would-it-be/467224.md?page=4)