What is the single most important gift of advice you have ever received?

Question

How did this advice change your life?

For me, it was: "You can choose to NOT be angry."

This gift of advice gave me conscious control of my emotions. By choosing to not be angry, I can be displeased with something and yet choose to not allow myself to become angry over it, when I would normally be very angry.

Choosing to not be angry is an incredible power of self-control.

NOTE: To all who respond. Please use my example as a blueprint. Provide just ONE gift of advice - THE MOST IMPORTANT ONE. And explain how it changed your life (which would clarify why it is the most imortant one).

Thanks to all.

A. Qurius Muse

Johnny Generator's and Leah's are equally my favorites. Putting them together, their gift of advice would be:

Expose yourself to that you wish to be, and become the change you wish to see in the world.

Unfortunately, I cannot award 5 points to each of you.

So I will leave it up to everyone else to vote.

To everyone else, thanks for particiating. At least you all received 2 points.

Answer 1

I have received a lot of good advice in my life, so it's hard to know where start! Great question, thanks for asking it!

I like this one in particular though, because it's so true. A teaching assistant once taught me that:

"You can be arrogant, or you can be stupid, but you can't be both."

Smart, arrogant people can't be sexy! However, the majority of arrogant people are pretty dumb. Every time one of them gets on their high horse, I think about this quote, and it makes me laugh!

Answer 2

To take my bad experiences and start looking at them like learning experiences. So as not to make the same mistakes twice.
This changed my life because for so long my life was bad, bad, and more bad. I started to fall apart and was always feeling sorry for myself and waiting for someone else to come along and fix my mistakes. And while I was waitng my life was passing by and I was making the same mistakes again and again.
Those words just hit me in the face. I realized only I could change, I couldn't change the people in my life.
My whole perspective on everything changed. I live different now. I'm happy now. Instead of crying and staying in bed for days when I get kicked down, I learn from it, I walk away with a new experience, maybe those experiences can help someone else.

One more
" listen with caution, blind acceptance can be hazzardous to your health"
That one is self explanatory.

Answer 3

The advice was to for once in your life ask yourself why you believe what you believe and then to systematically examine your beliefs and prove to yourself that your beliefs are based upon reality. The advice is also sometimes stated as -

place your trust not in what your parents have taught you no in what learned elders have taught you not in what "the wise" have taught you , but in what you have proven to yourself.

Sometimes told to others as -

Don't believe what I say just because I say it.

First time I came across this advice I was about 14 years of age and read it in a discourse by Rene Descartes (creator of the Cartesian coordinate system) and also credited with the saying "I think therefore I am".
Descartes postulated that most of our beliefs are based upon what we have been told is true and little is based upon what we have found to be true for ourselves.

Your "you can choose to be angry"

had no meaning to you until you examined it and proved it to yourself to be true.
At some point you were taught to be angry and that anger was a normal response to something. You "unlearned" this and proved to yourself something different.

Answer 4

"There will always be someone who hates you or disagrees with your choices. Do what you think is right for you."

This advice helped me to not worry about what others think of me and not listen to naysayers. It helped to feel more confident in my decisions because I am able to remove the guilt that comes from wanting to not make anyone else upset. Today, I am okay with having fewer friends because now I have friends who respect and support my right to live my life the way I see fit.

Answer 5

" It doesn't matter if anyone believes in your dreams - just because they think their opinion matter doesn't give them a right to vote on the success of your life! It'd be nice, it'd be help-full, but it's not necessary. God gave YOU the ability to achieve your dreams." - Pat Schatzline
These statements changed my life because they revolutionized the way I think about my future - now it's not dependent on the kindness of a publishing house or the ability of someone else to see where my dreams are going; now it's just the end result of a wild and adventurous process.

Answer 6

When I was younger, my mother always urged me to make sure that I was ready before I had any children. I'm still not ready and I still don't have any children, and I still think it was a great piece of advice.

Answer 7

Learn to rely on yourself and not others.

Doesn't mean not to form relationships, but it means have some dignity and always know that you're in charge of your life.

Best piece of advice my mother ever gave me....

Answer 8

For me:
"Trust in the LORD with all your heart, and do not rely on your own insight. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths. Be not wise in your own eyes; fear the LORD, and turn away from evil. It will be healing to your flesh and refreshment to your bones. "

This gift, helped further my faith and see miracles (literally) happen in my life. Also it makes easier to face things knowing He is facing them with/for me and victory is 100% there in every test of life.

Answer 9

You are your own person and no one should be able to change you. Only you should to that. Make your own choices with the advice of others.

Answer 10

Always tell the turth. Then I don't have to worry about a lie I told.