Use At Your Own Risk: 32 Tips and Suggestions That Are Not Always Right

We've been fed a pack of lies.

Published 9 months ago

Not every maxim or bit of advice is good to follow all the time. Sometimes a bit of perspective is needed. Here are some life tips that are better off avoided every now and then. If you really think about it, we've all been fed a bunch of lies most of our lives.

1
“You can do anything that you put your mind too.” No you can’t. Not everyone is good at everything, and the sooner you make peace with your own limitations, the more successful you’ll become.

2
“If you can’t love yourself you can’t love someone else.” Makes everyone with any mental illness feel unlovable and hopeless.

3
ABSOLUTELY DO SAVE BIRDS THAT FALL OUT OF THEIR NESTS! You're letting them die if you don't. Their moms don't care.
4
"You can't smell vodka." Yes you can. And you reek of it.

5
"If you work harder than everyone else, you'll *always* get what you want."No. Just no.Sometimes s**t happens. Hard work doesn't guarantee success. Some people, though untalented and lazy, cruise through life. And some people who work hard every single day struggle to make ends meet. There's no guarantee that hard work will get you to where you want to be.
6
"Never go to bed angry." Sometimes you just need some time to chill out and ruminate. Constantly talking about everything isn't good if you don’t have time to process your feelings.
7
Anything that advises you to be mean to someone who seemingly doesn't deserve it, like being macho towards women, or assertive with your boss.

8
there was a quote that was thrown around a lot, it was something like “a ship only sinks when it lets water in”, meaning if you don’t let negativity get to you, you’ll be fine.It’s total bull. Of course you can’t let one single negative comment destroy your confidence, but I’ve always thought this could easily be misunderstood and used to shame people who are depressed because they have a lot of s**t going on in their lives. If you’re surrounded by negativity, it will get to you sooner or later and there is no shame in that, it’s not your fault.
9
"you'll figure it out"... Like, nah, I won't, that's why I asked
10
"Always listen to your elders," and "Old people are wiser." Some old people are just stupid.

11
"Travel while you're young and not tied down!"While its great if** you can afford it, it has been offered in my experience chiefly by people who have folks to fall back on. Travelling the world until you are broke is not a good life pro tip if you get stranded with no one to bail you out at the end.
12
"Just DO THE WORK." Not horrible advice, but incomplete. I find that when people are stuck in life, it's often because they're doing the wrong kind of work. Work that's solitary, unmotivated, not strategic. Instead, I encourage people to "join the community" that is associated with the work they want to do. If you want to be a comedian or a filmmaker like me, hanging out at a show that you like, or collaborating with other creators, and building relationships there, and feeding those relationships just as often as you're "doing the work" will ultimately be more beneficial. At some point in your 20s most people realize it's not as much about what you know, or even what you do, it's about who you know. Who you know also has way more of an impact on your overall happiness.
13
You need to make a family so you won't end up alone.Well, you will end up alone surrounded by people if you don't know how to be there for you.

14
“Ignore the bullies and they’ll stop.” You are giving them and everyone who sees it permission. Silence is acceptance.
15
"Looks don't matter." No matter how confident you are with yourself, it is inevitable that people will judge you based on your appearance.
16
“Just be happy,” or “look on the bright side”. Great overall advice, but sometimes in the moment, it can be the absolute worst.

17
“If a boy is mean to you, it means he likes you.” No, it means he’s likely a bully, and the advice leads women to staying in abusive relationships because "he Loves me.”
18
"Just be yourself," and "you're perfect just the way you are." These are double edged swords preventing many people from growing out of horrid habits or bad personality traits.
19
"You should do some math before accepting a raise, because it might put you in the next tax bracket and you actually take home less money." THAT'S NOT HOW TAX BRACKETS WORK.

20
"If you can't handle me at my worst, you don't deserve me at my best." Absolutely wrong and super self-centered. At our worst, we're all super mean, and our loved ones don't deserve that.
21
I kind of have "no excuses" drilled into me, but sometimes there are legit reasons why you can't do something.
22
“Never give up.” Sometimes you should give up. Sometimes you’ll try your best and it still won’t work out.

23
“Practice makes perfect.” No it doesn’t. Practice makes permanent. If you continuously repeat shoddy work, you’ll just become very efficient at making that shoddy work, and it’ll be hard for you to ever improve.
24
"If you do what you love, you will never work a day in your life." Many people use this advice thinking they'll be able to easily coast through life and are shocked when they have to face the reality of it being an actual job.
25
If a girl has declined to go out with you, that means you stop asking her. It’s not her playing hard to get, she just isn’t interested, unless she surprises you and says otherwise.

26
"If you work harder than everyone else, you'll always get what you want." No. Stuff happens. Hard work doesn't guarantee success. Some people, though untalented and lazy, cruise through life. And some people who work hard every single day struggle to make ends meet.
27
I think the pursuit for perfection, especially in the age of social media. Not everything is like an influencer's life.
28
"Play hard to get." Most of the time, playing hard to get just guarantees that both of you are going to end up alone. The dating world is competitive and few people have the time to constantly pursue someone who is not demonstrating any interest.

29
"They're family! Let it go!" My dad (who is a doctor) watched as I got a viral infection that spread to my brain and I went blind and deaf.
30
Telling kids to "follow your dreams" and "you can be anything if you work hard enough." Sometimes you need to admit that even if something is your dream and you're willing to work for it, you may not have the necessary talent you need to succeed.
31
"Tip your head back to stop a nosebleed." Don't do that. Tip your head slightly forward with a kerchief pressed under your nose and allow the blood to clot.