People Share The Number One Rule That Guides Their Life

Little Traditions

Always have something to look forward to. Make some future plans. It keeps me going.

madtrippinfool

To piggyback off of this, find a hobby that takes place regularly and on a weekday. It greatly diminishes the "work for the weekend" mindset that many people have. I bowl league on Tuesdays and Thursdays and honestly look forward to those just as much as I do the weekend.

crysco

Valuing Yourself

Directly expressing my needs instead of hinting.

Being_grateful

This is one of those rules I needed to pick up again as an adult. I got discarded and messed with a lot as a kid because I was small and weird, so I got into a kind of mindset of minimizing and hiding my desires. It turns out being upfront with what you really want to do makes it far easier to be a friend to rather than them feeling more and more annoyed that they have to guess what you want or feeling bad that they always dominate or get to pick but you insist it's fine doing whatever. The rule is to make sure it's not a huge hit to group plans and also to not do it so often or every single time. Yes, wanting to lurk in the apartment playing Halo is fine, but it gets boring when that's all you want to do every single time.

762Rifleman

Step Back

Listen to my gut. I don't have to always follow it, but taking a moment to step back and ask how I feel about things, and ask myself a few questions to try and see why, has been a lifesaver. Works wonders for handling emotions and making decisions.

alliusis

The Ball, I'm On It

Don't waste anybody's time. If you asked somebody for a ride, be waiting outside when they arrive. If somebody asked you for a report at work by 3 o'clock, have it ready by five minutes to. Basically, just plan ahead and have everything ready to go when it needs to be ready. Nobody's going to want to bother with you if you're not on the ball.

thudly

That Word

If you make a promise to someone make sure it's one you can keep. If it's something that might not happen, I'll say "I will do my best on this but I can't promise anything." I try very hard to keep my word good.

ratsono

Just Try Your Best

Smile and say thank you. I had a friend once tell me my smile could melt and disarm anyone. So since then I've made it a point to smile as much as I can and especially when interacting with retail workers I always make sure I smile and say thank you. I almost always get a big smile back which feels good because you never know how many jerks that person has had to deal with that day. You might be the only decent customer they've had.

FancyHedgehog23

Silence Is Golden

If you want your plans to come true, NEVER, I say NEVER tell about those plans to anyone. Even to the closest relatives and friends. The only exception is that those people are directly involved into your plans.

XIII-Bel

My Oxygen Mask First

Bruh, love yourself first and foremost. Most people out there will not.

ETA: Basically keeping yourself physically and mentally healthy. It includes recognizing how others or ourself are causing harm; this includes removing ourselves from relationships, habits, environments that can be detrimental, and damage control.

Being kind and respectful to oneself, not selfish and greedy is one way to do it.

scream_schleam

Conditions

Life is difficult, painful, and confusing; it's difficult, painful and confusing for everyone. So be compassionate and understanding. There's a story to everyone's struggles, there's a reason behind anyone's failures. Be kind.

With the addendum that this rule does not apply to Yankees fans and Toronto FC fans.

el_pobbster

Mind Over Matter

If someone else can do something. Why can't I achieve the same? In other words, never sell yourself short. You are capable of much more than you think. Having that failure mentality is usually the reason you're constantly failing.

Straightup32