Very interesting idea Dee, I'll have to give this question some thought first.
Posted 1 year ago by Moonshadow_NZ #
This comes to mind,
"If a horse stands on your foot don't pull your foot out, push the horse off the foot instead".
Given to me by the 12 year old daughter of our farm manager.
I just wish she had given me that piece of advice before I did it the wrong way and ended up with a black and blue foot.
Another way of looking at it is don't try the obvious, think laterally.
Posted 1 year ago by Moonshadow_NZ #
I am with jcat....I know I have received tons of advice over my span of life, just don't remember any to be the best.
Posted 1 year ago by cricketsmama #
Mines a little odd because it is something that shaped me, but it is because I took it up as a challenge. When I was about 8 I got in an argument with my mother and was trying to tell her something when she snapped "children aren't allowed to have opinions!" I remember still resolving to have one about everything, no matter whether I shared it or not. So I started to learn everything I could about ANYTHING. I never take something at face value, I try to hear both sides. I also listen to kids. They're amazing fonts of wisdom with their little "opinions" if you just let them be. It's not really advice but I wouldn't be who I am today if it hadn't happened. :)
Can't remember who gave me the advice... it's lost in the mists of time. But it boiled down to, "Don't listen to what people say; look at what they do." (Actions seldom lie.)
An aphorism I live by, which has few situations where it's not applicable in human endeavors, is "Fast, Cheap, Good... pick two." attributed to movie director Jim Jarmusch.
Posted 1 year ago by anncetera2 #
Hmmm, there have been so many but one thing that stuck with me when Mr. WWM and I were dating and becoming serious. My mom told me to take a good look at his family and to be certain that they were the kind of people that I would love because, as she said, you not only marry the man but you take on his family as well. It was easy for me because he has a great family!
Posted 1 year ago by WillowandWindismom #
Great idea, Dee, Thanks!
I always come back to things my Mom said:
1. When it comes to big decisions: sleep on it
and my favorite
2. Keep yours ears open and your mouth shut.
My Mom was not a gossip (though I would've loved to known the stuff she took to her grave!) and thus taught by example to not gossip. I'm not perfect in that regard but I think i'm about 95 percent pure in terms of not gossiping. The times I have, well it has ALWAYS bit me in the behind!
Posted 1 year ago by Jetta and Boo Boo's Mom #
I don't remember where I heard this one, but it is good advice on avoiding making mistakes: Don't make decisions when you are sad, hungry, angry, lonely or tired.
And then good ole Shakespeare provided this one: "This above all, to thine ownself be true/And it must follow, as the night the day, thou canst not then be false to any man."
Hmmm... "Take care of the pennys and the dollars will take care of themselves." -my Grandfather
Posted 1 year ago by Crazycatman - CA #
These are all great...I love reading them!
Initially, I could not think of the best advice I received...most of it is kinda hokey. But, then I realized that I always live by some advice that my Spanish mother used to always say to us. The translation is, "If you have a mouth, you can get to France." (I guess growing up poor in Spain, traveling to France was a big deal.) Meaning, if you just open up your mouth and ask, it is surprising how much it can assist you in life. Whether it's asking someone for directions or asking a grocery store clerk where a product is or asking about refinancing your vehicle or calling your credit card company to ask for a lower interest rate!
I find myself saying that bit of advice to myself (and others) every time I feel weird or bashful about asking about something. A few years back, I saw an elderly woman in the grocery store who was putting some chicken in her cart and she had a cart full of food. Living in the south, I figured that she probably made some great fried chicken and I could not get mine to come out right. I asked her if she was going to make fried chicken...she said yes...and said that her kids and grandkids said she makes the best fried chicken and told me what to do...and my mistake was over-crowding the pan, which brings the oil temperature down and makes for soggy chicken! See? If you have a mouth, you can get to France.
My mom always told me "When you look in the mirror, you see your best friend and your worst enemy". It's totally true, I know all of the self-destructive things I used to do when I was younger was because I was my own worst enemy. Now, I am trying to be a better friend to myself.
She also always told me to not take s*** from anyone and if a job offers you insurance and 401k to jump on those bandwagons as soon as humanly possible!
Posted 1 year ago by roxysmommy #
I belong to a newcomer's club here (yeah, I know - I'm no longer a newcomer but I have to belong to stay in the book group!) and their motto is "Bloom Where You Are Planted". I've always had that philosophy since Mr. WWM has moved me 18 times in our marriage. Some of the places were less than great - Ft. Benning, Georgia comes to mind. But I firmly believe that any place is what you make it. You can decide to be happy and get involved in your new community or you can decide to be miserable and hate it. I think that I've done pretty well at blooming no matter where the moving van stopped.
Posted 1 year ago by WillowandWindismom #
Reading these..I have to say, I do remember something..it wasn't advice but something I learned in school and I am passing on to my girls.
The Golden Rule: Treat others how you would like to be treated. I try to adhere to that daily.
Posted 1 year ago by cricketsmama #
My dad, having five girls, always said:
"Get an education and be able to take care of yourself. Then marry for love, not money!" (guess I am still waiting!)
Posted 1 year ago by mollycat71 #
The day I married my Grandmother hugged and kissed me and said "Bloom Where You Are Planted." I have been planted and replanted all over the United States and half of Europe. I take the embroidary she did for me--the quote in and eggplant quilt and it goes everywhere I go. It is falling apart, but I bloom where I am planted.
Also "Teach with no regrets and don't hold back." A 12 year old wrote it in a journal to me.
....hmmmmmm....this is a hard one.... so many pieces have been rendered....
.... a couple of my favs are "you can tell the 'salt' of a person, by the way he plays golf... if he cheats on the course, he cheats in life".....
and .... "never say you 'can't'.... just say, you'll try".... "you never know".....
... and finally..... "nothing changes if 'nothing changes'....."........
oh yes and in grad school, the oldie but goodie "there is no I in team", everything was a group project. I guess in life that is pretty true too, we have to work together in this life.
Posted 1 year ago by mollycat71 #
"Don't sweat the small stuff...and it's all small stuff". My mom.
Posted 1 year ago by paulajeanne #
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