We’ve all heard those so-called “words of wisdom” that are supposed to make life better—but sometimes they do the exact opposite. What’s one popular piece of advice you think is just plain terrible? Let’s hear the bad advice we should all stop taking!

#1

"You can be anything you want to be if you try hard enough!" No, you cannot. Y
Depending on what you want to be, you may not be athletic enough, or smart enough, or lucky enough.

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Hollerfloozy
Community Member
1 month ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Or born in the right circumstances. Or the right opportunities. Oh? You make your own opportunities? Ok, how did you do it? Inquiring minds wanna know.

Heffalump
Community Member
1 month ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

And if hard work was all it takes, the woman who cleans your house would be richer than you. (because people who say this are _always_ affluent enough to have people clean up after them).

Glenn Milliken
Community Member
1 month ago

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Explain Karma Harris

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    #2

    Forgive and Forget. Nope, I'm remembering, plotting, and will bring it up again.

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    Heffalump
    Community Member
    1 month ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    I simply don't understand why people think 'Forgive' and 'Forget' belong together. I'm happy to forgive you, because holding on to my anger at you is mentally unhealthy. But I'll never forget that you're not to be trusted.

    #3

    The lie that you can't love someone else until you love yourself. How does that advice help anyone?

    And, as anyone with depression or s******l thoughts can tell you, it's categorically false

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    Hollerfloozy
    Community Member
    1 month ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    YES!! Thank you! Love myself? Seriously? That will solve my problems.. well why didnt I think of that.. Let me make love to a mirror and I'll be right back with all the answers.

    Tor-Arne Hjellen
    Community Member
    1 month ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    You're offered $50,000, but if you accept, the person you hate most in the world gets $100,000. So what you're saying is I'll get $150,000?

    Sue
    Community Member
    1 month ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    As a 62-year-old, I would say you have to respect yourself before you can love someone else. Of course, first we would need to define love. Good luck with that!

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    #4

    “Life’s not fair - you just have to accept it.”

    My mum used to say this a lot, and I never agreed. No, I don’t have to accept sexism, bias, inequality etc, because that’s just the way it is. I’m going to fight it and scream about it instead, because if lots of people do that, then maybe things will change.

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    Vix Spiderthrust
    Community Member
    1 month ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Yes. "Life isn't fair" - we know. It is our job to make it fairer.

    #5

    So many, often parroted here from Reddit posts, but I get particularly annoyed by anything about how to stop procrastinating over unpleasant tasks that start with "just". From "just do it now" to "just do ten minutes of it, it won't seem to bad then".

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    Hollerfloozy
    Community Member
    1 month ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Sometimes there is more to it than just not wanting to do an unpleasant task. There are mental health issues, hang ups, trauma related issues. Sometimes I look at a pile of clean laundry and I'm transported back into places I don't ever wanna be again. So the "Just" folks can "just" shut it.

    Sue
    Community Member
    1 month ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Some people have more serious problems than not wanting to do an unpleasant task. If you're going to bring your problems to people, they're going to give you advice. So just tell your therapist. I think sometimes people like you think others don't have the same issues because we don't feel the need or want to impose our mental health problems on others, especially repeatedly. So the whiners can just shut it or do something about it.

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    Stardust she/her
    Community Member
    1 month ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    I struggle with the mere act of getting started on any task, hate it when I open up to folks about my problems with getting stuff done and they tell me to “do it instead of waiting for motivation”. Gee, why didn;t I think of that

    Sue
    Community Member
    1 month ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Then why tell anyone? Then you're just whining. People don't want to hear someone say "I can't! I can't" over & over & then watch them not even TRY. If somebody held a "you know what" to your head, most of the time you could. Nobody can help you with that sort of thing except you, and possibly medication. You have to be honest with yourself for that method to work, though. If you do 5 minutes & really want to stop, then stop. But most of the time I keep going.

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    Rachel Reynolds
    Community Member
    1 month ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Executive dysfunction has entered the chat. Sometimes I can't even do things I enjoy!

    Sue
    Community Member
    1 month ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    for "just do ten minutes," it means "only," not "easy." That advice really did help me.

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    #6

    You cannot discipline autism away "before they grow and it "sets" in". You can't bleach-bath it away. You can't pray it away. You can't change their diet and boom they are cured. Stop peddling these lies before they hurt even more innocent people. You googled ignorance is not a suitable replacement for actual knowledge and medical training.

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    Sue
    Community Member
    1 month ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    You can help them learn better habits & coping skills. There are different levels, and while you can't cure it (yet), you can give them tools to help them succeed.

    Community Member
    1 month ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    YES!!!! Each is different, they learn different, they adapt different. That's why it;s so important to have them evaluated by a professional and start the therapies as soon as possible. For this exact reason. And tho I have to give the obligatory " there is nothing to cure", I wont lie and say there haven't been times I wished/prayed for some relief from it all.

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    Frank Terhune
    Community Member
    1 month ago

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    Community Member
    1 month ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Yes, because if I just didnt spare the rod and taught him "discipline", or prayed for him even more than i have spent his whole life doing, or read the bible at him like a fence post, it was gonna fix everything. You have insulted every parent of a disabled child out there. And I hope you burn for your ignorance. If that makes me the bad guy. I'm ok with that. Tired of idiots trying to peddle god like a snake oil cure.

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    #7

    I've heard people say that there's no reward for being a good person simply because it's right. But the thing is, being a good person, doing good, that's the reward.

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    #8

    Go to college. It's a waste of time for a low paying competitive job. So, go to trade school. Be an electrician or plumber. Those trades will never go away

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    nottheactualphoto
    Community Member
    1 month ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    College isn't always a bad idea. It's also not always a good idea. Amazingly, it depends on your specific situation.

    Heffalump
    Community Member
    1 month ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Though I'd add that, if you're not sure what you want out of college, get a trade first, then go to college later if you decide that's what you want: if nothing else, you'll find it much easier to work to pay for it.

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    #9

    Anyone saying "calm down" when I'm upset.

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    #10

    "You should be open-minded about everything." No, you don't. It is okay to shut out certain topics, especially those that tend to make tempers flare.

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    #11

    Go be a lawyer when u grow u up (🤮)

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    #12

    Get your "base tan" by getting badly sunburned. Then get even more sun exposure as frequently and for as long as you can (or use a tanning bed, even) for a "healthy" look.

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    Sue
    Community Member
    1 month ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    I've never heard anyone say to get sunburned to get your base tan. Just doing it lightly. But even that will damage your skin.

    Rachel Reynolds
    Community Member
    1 month ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    This was "good" advice in the 80's. My parents encouraged it and I'm probably going to have skin cancer because of it.

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    Faramir10
    Community Member
    1 month ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    I thought this went out ages ago.

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    #13

    All the advice that tells you to excuse a partner’s toxic behavior — even if it’s because of childhood trauma — is mostly nonsense. In most cases, those “reasons” are just excuses for crappy behavior. And if it is really about trauma, it’s up to that person to want to heal. You can support them, be empathetic, and walk beside them… but you can’t save an idiot who doesn’t want to change

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    #14

    "Look on the bright side..."

    This is problematic for a couple reasons:
    1. Maybe it's best if we learn to lean into the difficult and let ourselves feel all the feels... after all, couldn't we all do with developing some healthy coping skills for dealing with emotions that bring us discomfort and experiences that aren't pleasant? The rain cloud still exists inside that "silver lining" whether we want to see it or not, and ignoring it doesn't prevent us from getting wet.
    2. This is neither a compassionate or empathetic response. It is dismissive.

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    Sue
    Community Member
    1 month ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    I only use it ironically.

    Hollerfloozy
    Community Member
    1 month ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    That's about the only way I ever hear it anymore. Crashed the car? "Look on the bright side..." Blew out your knee? "Ohhhh.. but look on the bright side..." The bright side being I get to pick the color on a new used vehicle I can't really afford to have but really, really cant afford to NOT have. Or physical therapy for how ever long that takes in which case I wont be able to work to afford that car or the bills.. Sarcasm and irony are the only coping mechanisms we have left at this point.

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    #15

    The hardest thing to get over in life is yourself.

    This is true for Pandas, though.

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    #16

    What would Jesus do? I prefer what would Chuck Norris do?

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    Hollerfloozy
    Community Member
    1 month ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Or.. my daughter says wwbrd. What would Bob Ross do? ( she's a clutz )

    The Majestic Opossum
    Community Member
    Premium
    1 month ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    You can turn any mistake into a happy tree with enough paint 😂

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    Rachel Reynolds
    Community Member
    1 month ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    I prefer "What would Rocket Racoon do?" It usually involves explosives and that way whatever I do seems sane in comparison.

    The Majestic Opossum
    Community Member
    Premium
    1 month ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    What would Mr. Rodgers do?