I think too many people fight to give the best piece of advice. There is always a fight to see which statement gives the most oohs and ahhs. We have cliche statements sitting in our back pockets, just awaiting someone in need.
This is a post all about the worst advice I've ever heard.
I asked people to give me a piece of bad advice, and they were pretty upset that I didn't give them context. I think we can learn a lot about someone when we throw them a question like this.Who throws a hardball? Who hides behind the sarcasm? I asked several different people for their worst advice and added a few famous pieces; let's give them a look.
Drink the orange juice after brushing your teeth. - Alissa
This one is usually directed at me, actually. As she is my roommate, I'm pretty sure this is her laughing at my struggles.
Put all of your worth in another person. - Allison
As this piece is attributed to me, you can obviously see that this is important to me. Either as a positive or a negative statement, it's so easy to say, but difficult to follow through with.
Don't write this article. - Danny
So sassy.
It will get better. Stay with him/her. - Lorena
What's the story? I don't know. But either way, this breaks my heart.
It's your job to save someone. - Your mind
There is this lie in our heads which tells us that it's our job to save someone.
You can save someone. - Also your mind
There is another lie, telling us that it's even possible to save someone. You can't. You can only love and pray that God can use you to speak truth into their lives.
Watch another episode. - Cassie
Cassie, the film fanatic.
You can do anything you put your mind to. - Society
I hate to burst my own bubble, but there are just some things I could never be and shouldn't waste my time on. I have a purpose as part of God's greater plan, and I should be pursuing the things he wants me to pursue with the gifts he's given. As an entrepreneurial management major, my teachers teach me to develop what I'm good at and hire people to fill in the gaps. I completely agree with this. I'm not built to be an accountant or a teacher or a geologist, and they aren't built to be me.
Don't try; you'll fail anyways. - Heather
You show them, H.
Only eat cookies. - Kelsey
Been there, done that. It's a lifestyle, right, Kels?
Freedom is the absence of restrictions. - Tim Keller
Keller uses this all-too-common statement to show us how our best moments of freedom, as well as freedom through Christ, are restricted for our own good. We don't eat all the cookies all the time, because we want to live to be healthy adults with long lives. We don't surrender to instant gratification, because the prize at the end of the tunnel is worth so much more.
Why do today what you can put off ’til tomorrow? - Rachel
The older I get, the better I've gotten at procrastinating. I've perfected the art of getting out of bed at the absolute last possible second.
Just do it. - Connor
What is it? Apparently you shouldn't do it.
Pick a major that will get you a job, not make you happy. - Courtney
People on all sides are telling us to choose the million dollar fix. But it's not going to fix us, or our world.
Do what makes you happy. - Caleb
What a beautiful display of the fact that we are happiest when we don't get or do everything we want. Yes, we should be happy, and yes, we should make our own decisions, but our happiness comes from so much more than instant gratification.
This is a just a small sampling of the bad advice I was given. The questions help us to see more and learn more than what appears to the eye.
We're all sick of cliche advice and people judging us for the things we do. Let's think of ways to encourage and lift people up instead. People are worth more than our sorry pieces of advice. Let's make things personal. Let's dig deep. Let's create a twist in fate.
