Nothing is real. No concept you hold is concrete, actual reality. Our brains weren't built to mold perfectly to the intricate contours of the universe, they were built to make a fast efficient model that does a bit better than our competitors. So, not only can you always be wrong, everyone is always wrong.
This really helps me give people more leeway and understanding. It helps me be kinder, and helps me take the time to understand others more.
@ZenFriedRice Yes! Everything is kind of a lie, and everyone is kind of a fake. You too. Me, as well.
This is really liberating, and I find it kinda amazing and beautiful even that it all still works.
A guy walked up to me on the metro once and said "always be wary of unsolicited advice"
Threw me for a loop. But also turned out after processing it, pretty good advice
lmao, that sounds like a Stephen Wright one liner.
Exams are a moment to show the examiner what you know. Ergo if you don't know what the answer to a question is, just write everything you know about the question. It got me through my school exams way back when.
This is particularly important for exams outside an academic context. My daughter was having an eye exam when she was young. Because this was an "exam," she thought she could fail and that would be bad. As a result, she just closed up and didn't say anything.
I had to coach her after her first attempt and let her know that this isn't an exam that you pass or fail. It's an exam to see where you are so they can understand how to help you. Once I did that, she was fine, and we were able to find out what was wrong.
"Relax, you're just making pasta."
I used to be a person with massive anxiety for perfectionism. I never wanted to make a mistake, no matter how small. Thanks mom!
I went with my now-wife to Italy several years ago and we did a cooking class. I was learning to make pasta and trying to make the egg well as perfectly round as possible, and the chef teaching us told me that. Weirdly it struck me as super obvious, and it helped me frame my anxiety in a better light. It helped me figure out my anxiety wasn't realistic, and eventually lead to therapy and medications to help.
Now, I use this phrase at work all the time to remind my teams of software engineers at work that it's alright if something isn't working. We don't work with medical systems or nuclear plants. Bugs won't cause the end of the world, so it's not worth panicking over. We're just making pasta.
I tell myself and coworkers similar things when we're stressed. I put in production lines for auto parts. Something always goes horribly wrong and delays things. People freak out and I tell them that worst case scenario is some soccer moms will have to wait a month for their upgraded ride.
Don't buy shit you don't need. I'm able to save money.
Treat the future you well. Especially for people who always procrastinate.
Like having a better time management so the future you won't have to worry about stuff. You finish things early so that the future you don't have to be anxious about deadlines. You think of the consequences of your actions before you act.
This also develops a positive feedback. When you are better off because what yourself have prepared beforehand, you thank you self. Then you are motivated to prepare more for your future self.
There's a lot, but here's a couple important ones for me.
Do it right the first time, and it's better to make a mistake than to do nothing at all.
These mostly apply to a work environment, but can apply to real life situations too. Doing these two things will drastically reduce the amount of time you have to repeat something or be called out for lack of action.
Nothing makes me more frustrated than having to redo something or constantly follow up on something because it was never done. Time is a finite resource. Don't waste it
Understand what you really want, then move toward it.
I'm afraid this might have the opposite effect for me.
"Wait, I have to know what I really want before I can move? OK then. I'll get started in 30-40 years when I figure it out." 😅
Follow through, then follow up. Doing what you say you will, then follow up to see how it went and if things need changed or updated.
Paraphrasing here: "Remember that terrible thing that happened to you a long time ago? Someday, this thing that's happening now will seem as far away as that thing does now."
It wasn't framed like this. I can't really explain it the same way the advice was given to me because it was attached to a personal story, but that story wasn't really important to the advice. It's essentially just, "this too shall pass," but this framing made it much more meaningful.
This helps me put things in perspective and realize that everything will be OK. When you're in the middle of something difficult, it doesn't always seem like it's going to be OK. Knowing it will makes all the difference.
