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People Debate The Widely Shared Advice That Is Utter Bullsh*t

People Debate The Widely Shared Advice That Is Utter Bullsh*t
Nadine Shaabana on Unsplash

Truly believe only half of what you see, and almost nothing that you hear. This is sage advice that has followed generations upon generations of people. Truly only filter out the things you know are going to work for you.

Unfortunately, not everybody has the self-possession to claim their own path. But we can teach those people what advice NOT to take. And some of that advice you should ignore is actually the very advice some people really believe in.


Redditor anasear asked:

What’s some widely accepted bad advice?

Here were some of those answers.


The Body Keeps The Score

"Telling athletes to 'push through the pain.' This is how I ended up getting a new knee when I was 28."-VerySaltyScientist

"For parkour ppl, if you are feeling pain that means you’re doing something wrong/something high strain that shouldn’t be done often or you’re not ready for."

"Big difference between muscle soreness and bad technique."-1kateviax1

Same Thing To Bankrupt Yourself

"3 paychecks for an engagement ring. Thats not even what the 'advice' even was; its actually worse than that."

"This 'advice' comes from a De Beers Diamonds company marketing campaign, and it said that a ring should cost two months worth of your pay, which would be 4 paychecks since most people get paid every 2 weeks."

"And then later, they changed the advertisements to say three months of your pay which would be six pay checks."-theinsanepotato

Skin Deep

“'Looks don’t matter.' As someone that’s ugly I find that mildly offensive. Looks get your foot in the door, personality gets you in. Having a great personality only works if you’re moderately attractive."

"People also treat others different based on whether they’re hot or not. My best friend is typically attractive and the amount of times people have talked over me only to listen raptly to my friend is not even funny anymore."

"Treat others with respect, yes even us ugly ones."-_Frog_Enthusiast_

Seeing any advice here that makes you want to crawl out of your skin yet?

No...You'll Make PLENTY Of Money

"Don’t take that promotion, you’ll make less money if you get a raise, overtime will put you in a new tax bracket and you’ll actually make less, etc…"

"We really should teach this kind of stuff in school because it’s scary how many people don’t understand how tax brackets work."-bb_1219

Dreams Are Just Dreams

"Follow your dreams. It is too vague. 'I want to be an actress' and then not explaining the steps, or other obscure jobs kinda leads to a kid dreaming and not doing much....then growing up confused."

"I still think people should follow their passions in life. Do what they love, and find motivation in everything. But I hate 'follow your dreams.'"

"It sounds like something you'd hear a whimsical fairy say. It is meaningless, dreamy, and unproductive today....in my opinion."-anonomnom23

Just Go To Bed

“'Never go to bed angry.' I hear people say it all the time, and people accept it as if it’s gospel, but often a good nights sleep and a chance to let your cortisol drop so you can get out of your ‘reptilian brain’ and return to reason is really what you need."

"Do not stay up all night trying to resolve some issue when you’re furious and exhausted. Go ahead and go to bed angry."-a_little_confusion

Just Tell Poor People To Have More Money!

"Telling anyone with mental health issues, unilaterally, to fix them via meditation/mindfulness. Why I feel it often doesn’t work, bc I know this advice is usually offered in good faith:"

"Remember that meditation and mindfulness are both skills, that need time and energy to cultivate; so even if they are helpful (and I do use both to help manage my own), it’s not helpful advice to give someone so deep in depression/mental illness that they have neither."

"In my experience, it feels like reaching out and saying, 'I’m drowning,' and someone responds, 'Well, why don’t you just learn how to swim?'"

"The real advice people often need is exactly how and where to seek help, which will go a much longer way."-topHatGhost1622

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Scholarships

"'Study whatever you want in college that interests you.' Unless you have scholarship money, wealthy and giving parents, etc."

"You shouldn't (example:) go to a private art college to study printmaking. My ex-gf did that and she'll be in debt her whole life. You can study whatever you want, but you don't have to borrow $100k to pursue what you love."-CliplessWingtips

Trades, Though

"'You have to go to college.' No. College is one option. There are several other options. Trade school. Apprenticeship. Workforce. Military. Volunteering. Whatever!"

Y"ou have to do what's right for you, not what others are incentivized to tell you."

"College was right for me, and I was able to pay off my loans within 5 years of graduating because I was fortunate to use my degree to obtain a job in my field fairly quickly."

"That doesn't mean it's right for my cousin, who is a welder and making gobs of money being an expert on his own schedule!"-Caruthers

Yeah, Money CAN Make You Happy

"'Money doesn't buy happiness.' While yes it isn't guaranteed to make you happy I would bet you wouldn't at all be happy if you were homeless."

"Whereas if you had average income you would likely be more happy. Simply because you're not living in a sh*thole without taking showers."

"You can live in comfort and be clean. People seem to think that just cause lots of rich people are lonely and dicks that means that money means nothing with happiness. Well it definitely does."-doochebag420696969

Next time you hear somebody give you this advice, take it with a grain of salt.

We've learned it doesn't work for everybody.

Luck and privilege are much bigger factors in success than platitudes.

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