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In This Viral Thread, People Are Exchanging Tips And Hacks For Living A Better Life (30 Answers)
It's no big secret that life is an incredibly tricky thing.
However, before you berate yourself for failing one more time, remember that it's like that for everyone: Hollywood A-listers, world-class scientists, Instagram influencers who fly to the Seychelles every other weekend, your mom, and even your elderly neighbor who seems so content all the time.
We're all experiencing life for the very first time, and it would be foolish to believe that we're able to nail it without encountering a few rocky roads on our way – yet, a few life lessons from those who have gone a long way have never hurt anybody.
“What is something that not a lot of people know [and] that if they knew it, would drastically improve their quality of life?” – this web user turned to one of Reddit’s most thought-provoking communities, asking its members to share their go-to piece of advice that would significantly enhance someone's quality of life. The post managed to garner over 1.6K upvotes as well as 1.5K comments revealing only the most life-changing tips.
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When having a discussion with someone you should listen to what they are saying and not think about what you’re going to say when they’re done talking.
You don’t HAVE to become a parent if you don’t want to
I did it once and I don't want to really do it again. It's not what I imagined it would be like. I hated having to deal with the corrupted schools. I do not miss the morning walks to school and back 2 to 3 times a day, morning, noon and afternoons, in -35C wind chills, trying to make sure she has a well rounded lunch she likes and is allowed to bring to school. Parent teacher meetings don't feel any different than what it was like being a kid. Meetings with the principal is just like when you were a kid being sent to the principal's office. Call your kid in sick becomes a game of how well you can convince the secretary your kid is sick enough to stay home. If your kid does poorly in a class or on a test, you feel as much like a failure to your kids. You're scrutinized for your age being a parent no matter your age. Now having kids in your 20s is considered too young. Having kids in your 30s is "getting up there". 40s? Everyone's losing their s**t. Pediatricians don't want to hear your
I realized that I would never talk to someone the way I talk to myself, it was a little light bulb moment. Self compassion is a long road.
You are not obligated to stay in contact with friends or family forever. If they make you miserable you are free to walk away.
Family is like an appendix: you have only one, but if they start messing with your health, you cut them off.
It’s okay to not have an established opinion about everything.
Feeling tired and/or like s**t all the time is not normal and if you do then you should probably see a Dr.
Saying "no" is easy. Saying "no" and not needing to explain yourself is even easier.
You don’t have to attend every argument you are invited to.
Personal boundaries. You don’t own anyone an explanation and you don’t have to keep s****y people in your life.
Don't go cheap on mattresses or shoes.
Drinking mainly water and going outside for ten minutes a day will greatly improve mood and health
Spending time in nature is one of the best things to make you feel better. They don't call it forest bathing for nothing
I love spending time in nature and take the time to walk my dogs a different path every single day. I even splurged this year and bought a one year pass to the local nature preserve so I can hike anytime I want and not just when I have hours with nothing to do.
Don’t tell your self you’ll be happy when [insert goal here]
Be happy now because it may be all you’ve got
Good advice but very hard to follow, as a sufferer of MDD
Getting off of social media.
This one is kinda ironic since you know we are on Social media discussing this
Most interactions you have with others, particularly strangers, they'll forget about pretty soon after they happen. They have their own s**t going on. Once you realise this, it becomes much easier to ask that stupid question, to complain, or to let go of something embarrassing that happened.
I have a hard time remembering this. If I do or say something that I feel was stupid, I mentally beat myself up for hours.
Empathy. If you can empathize with why someone is acting or feeling a way it makes the world easier to navigate. It helps you give grace to others and reduces your stress as well. You also see that not everyone has walked the same path as you and even if they did, they had a different view.
but here I am, stuck with too much empathy. It makes me too emotional.
Incremental progress is realistic progress. If you're only going to find satisfaction in progress that takes large or extreme jumps to achieve, you'll just find long stretches of depression between a few days of satisfaction.
What relevance does this pic have? To be patient collecting bottle caps?
Instead of saying something about yourself, ask the person a question about them or a follow up question about what they said last.
You don’t have to wait until bills are due to pay on them.
If you're fat and lazy (Like I was), you can use your laziness to your advantage by convincing yourself that you're too lazy to get up and get a snack (I'm still lazy but I'd stopped having to get a snack every few moments thanks to that.)
You can't get up from this position until the cat overlord lets you.
Always round down your paycheck. You made 433 this week. So 400.
Always round up your bills.
Take you highest monthly bills times 12 and that's an estimate for how much you need to live.
Then take the lowest pay month and times that by 12. That's how much you make a year. Roughly.
Bills fluctuate(heat electric etc)and your pay isn't always the same. IE sick days etc.
This is the difference between what you can buy and what you can afford. If your pay is below or slightly over to those yearly bills you need to cut stuff or another job.
This will help you estimate your financial status before it becomes a bigger problem.
Put an end to working more than 40 hours per week.
That would sadly put an end to my employment. Which would then put an end to a paycheck. Which would then put an end to paying my bills. Which would then put an end to having a home. Which would then make me homeless. I think I'll just keep working my 40 hours, thanks for the insight though :)
Having a good sleep schedule. Going to bed AROUND the same time every night and waking up at the same time every morning. I know this isn’t feasible for everybody but it really changed my life and my productivity through the day
Now that I have to take transplant medicines every day every twelve hours, I can't ever sleep in again. But I can take my meds and go back to sleep. :)
Just stepping back and appreciating the world. Too many operate on autopilot 24/7 that they miss out on simple things.
Little things like squirrels on a fence or a pretty leaf from a tree. So many beautiful things for free!
White vinegar has 1001 uses
Add it to your laundry, cleans glass, mirrors, tile, disinfects, cleans floors without streaking.
Pee after sex! Used to have so many uti's until I learned that and haven't had one since! It's so easy and useful idk why this isn't more well known
I used to think I was abnormal and weird for needing to do that. Sometimes you have to have a washroom break in the middle of sex. That should be okay, too. If your partner has a problem with that then he's a lousy sex partner and a jerk. Possibly an abusive, controlling, selfish jerk.
Exercise is good for keeping your body healthy
Not into ripped bodies?, not into team sports or sport culture?, not into gym lifestyle?
Exercise anyway, doing something you enjoy, it's good for you
“Trusting someone” isn’t actually trusting the other person to never make a mistake or never hurt your feelings - that’s something you can’t control.
It’s putting trust in yourself that you have the ability to handle any situation that may come with being vulnerable. Life hasn’t been the same since I realized.
Trusting someone also means you trust yourself to choose someone worthy of your trust.
Separating needs from wants, yet fighting against peer pressure to buy things you don’t need.
'We buy things we don't need with money we don't have to impress people we don't like.'
Life is very short. Try to have as much fun as you can in that short period of time. You got like 900 months and that’s it.
Remember, you really don’t need a big house or an expensive car or a lot of other materialistic stuff. Less is more. And by having less means you save a lot of money. Most people have to work very hard to maintain a certain lifestyle. A lot of people are slaves to their own mortgage or other fixed costs. But does that really make you happy?
I've lived in a big house and I don't desire a big house. You have to clean it and maintain it, both inside and outside. A large portion of your life will be focused on the well-being of the house that you will want a vacation from your home when you're on vacation from work. When you're not working on your home you're worrying about all the expensive things that can happen to your home. I'm happier renting a small suite.
Take the time to learn the basics of cooking skills, invest in a couple of good quality pots and pans (from a thrift shop is fine), keep three sharp knives: chef's, paring, and carving. And throw out any spice more than a year old.
You shouldn't care about anyone (celebrity, politician, family, etc.) more than they're willing to care about you.
Yes and no. This is a delicate dance because some people do care more than they'll show it you, and how people show they like you will differ based on many factors. They could also be waiting for you to make the first move and think you care less than you do. Relationships of any kind shouldn't be turned into this cat and mouse game.
The benefits of strength (weight) training. Especially for people who are close to reaching the age 50+. It makes A HUGE difference.
Having strong muscles, bones, and tendons is crucial for everything to do with life. And as you age, they inevitably atrophy, so having a higher starting point when you get old prolongs you vitality significantly.
There's plenty of reasons why everybody should hit the gym at least once per week.
For some reason, most people seem to think gym is just for aesthetics. Your muscles aren't aesthetic organs, ffs.
Dental care when you’re young can prevent major problems when you’re older. Get a Sonicare toothbrush! ( I’m not a dentist)
One of nieces is a dental hygienist and she got everyone in the family a sonicare toothbrush for their birthdays this past year (she gets them through work, she didn't spend a fortune on them). They are wonderful.
Self awareness. There are so many people that are blissfully ignorant running around these days. It's horrific to be part of this society
What's the difference between ignorance and apathy? I don’t know and I don’t care.
It sounds silly, but attaching my keys to my wallet and using a Tile has been such a big change for little effort. I used to waste so much time hunting for my keys and wallet, and now I don’t.
Also laying out my clothes the night before. Even though I don’t have a complex wardrobe or anything, it just gets me going.
SAD light in winter, when I wake up, 18 inches away from the face. No more SAD.
Before I go to bed each night, I gather my clothes and hang them in the bathroom and put my work bag by the door. I usually pack my lunch as well, but if I do the other two the night before, I have time in the morning to pack my lunch. My mother did this with all thirteen of us and I have continued it into adulthood. It makes the mornings go much smoother.
Go for a walk in the woods when you are sad/ angry/ anxious/ scared. You will feel
better and will be able to understand and face your situation with more clarity.
Don't ever engage in any way with a narcissist.
My brain can't process this image, it just can't. I don't know what I'm looking at
Silence can set the stage for the practice of mindfulness, which has a range of mental health benefits.
Being mindful and aware of what is happening in the present moment can reduce anxiety, quiet racing thoughts, and calm the nervous system.
Mindfulness gets a bad press if you ask me. It's just a case of tuning in to all of your senses and suppressing active thought. It can be quite grounding and relaxing. The only difficulty is finding the time to do it and a suitable location. You don't have to grow dreadlocks and live in a commune though, but you can if you want.
If you’re in a car that’s new to you and don’t know what side the gas tank is on, there’s a symbol by your gas gauge (usually of a gas pump) with an arrow showing which side your tank is located on
First thing I do before I get into an unfamiliar car is check to see what side the gas cap is on.
If you use a Neti pot to clear your sinuses, you need to use water that’s been filtered or boiled first. If you use water that hasn’t been sterilized, like tap water, there’s a chance brain eating amoebae which you just shoved up your nose could travel further up and infect your brain.
Yeah, distilled water should be used. No chemicals that irritate and cause even more problems.
Use wood pellet for cat litter. No more cat litter smell, super cheap and easy to clean.
"Do the thing, and you shall have the power." - Ralph Waldo Emerson
Instead of wanting the "strength/will/confidence" to do something, do the something to get the "strength/will/confidence".
Doesn't have to be a huge action, just something small daily or weekly and let it compound.
Yes! So many things can be started this way and reward you later when you see how much (whatever it is) has accumulated. Works for everything from money to skills to abilities and exercise! Put the 'change' into a jar and check it once a year. Start with Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star on the piano and practice. One push-up or pull-up a day can and will turn into being able to do hundreds. Being able to carve wood with a knife is awesome but everyone starts at the beginning; even those truly talented people start with splinters and broken pieces of wood. A little every week or day compounds and distills it to where people will point to you as the expert, but only after practice and application.
when you go out, never forget your WOWEE
Wallet
phOne
Wkeys
Egg
Egg(extra)
One thing I'm learning at my new job, that I wish I knew from the start, is not being afraid to take advantage of your company's open door policy. Not abusing it, but taking advantage of it to address any confusion on protocol procedures and training, and getting feedback on how well the managers think you're doing. Unlike my last job, I'm not getting any daily, constant reviews and performance forms and don't hear of the positive feedback, but I do get told what I'm wrong and corrected. It was making me afraid that I'm screwing up a lot, and not able to handle the job quickly. Apparently if anything was really wrong it would get back to the managers and, after asking them, I was told no news is good news, and they see I have a good work ethic and willingness to learn. It helped a bit with my confidence. However, I have noticed I wasn't trained properly and that's where I see the problem lying. The managers have taken notice and make improvement, clarified and retrained me on things.
Basically I'm f****d cause I can never get myself to follow the advice =/
We have saying: "if advice was any good, it would be sold, not given away!". If you find hard to follow advice, ask yourself why. Some people just don't respond to advice. If that's your case, just look for someone who you look up to, and follow their example. I used to do that in the office, rather than saying "If I were you, I would..." or "Why don't you...", I'd say something like "Mary had the same predicament and she did so and so. Do you think it helps?".
Load More Replies... One thing I'm learning at my new job, that I wish I knew from the start, is not being afraid to take advantage of your company's open door policy. Not abusing it, but taking advantage of it to address any confusion on protocol procedures and training, and getting feedback on how well the managers think you're doing. Unlike my last job, I'm not getting any daily, constant reviews and performance forms and don't hear of the positive feedback, but I do get told what I'm wrong and corrected. It was making me afraid that I'm screwing up a lot, and not able to handle the job quickly. Apparently if anything was really wrong it would get back to the managers and, after asking them, I was told no news is good news, and they see I have a good work ethic and willingness to learn. It helped a bit with my confidence. However, I have noticed I wasn't trained properly and that's where I see the problem lying. The managers have taken notice and make improvement, clarified and retrained me on things.
Basically I'm f****d cause I can never get myself to follow the advice =/
We have saying: "if advice was any good, it would be sold, not given away!". If you find hard to follow advice, ask yourself why. Some people just don't respond to advice. If that's your case, just look for someone who you look up to, and follow their example. I used to do that in the office, rather than saying "If I were you, I would..." or "Why don't you...", I'd say something like "Mary had the same predicament and she did so and so. Do you think it helps?".
Load More Replies...