If you had to give one piece of advice that is pretty much universally applicable, what would it be?

I wouldn't dare defile Douglas Adam's memory by not mentioning that you should keep a towel with you at all times, but my second contender is a surprisingly short three-parter:

  1. never lie.
  2. never tell the whole truth.
  3. never pass up a chance to use a real bathroom.
nycki ,

Take chances, make mistakes, and get messy.

Learning good technique is hard and boring. Solve a problem the wrong way first, and you'll find out what technique improvements are worthwhile.

untorquer ,

Learn to recognize when you're responding defensively to a statement made by those around you.

-There wrong about me, they're the problem

- I'm fine i don't bed to listen to that

- etc...

Think about it for a few days, once you're over the initial emotional reaction. Be critical of your own response and contemplate the motivation for the statement

- is it out of care for you or manipulation

- Is it honest or malicious? 

- Are they expressing a need?

That's when you have the greatest opportunity to grow as a person and build deeper relationships. It's also when you have an opportunity to break your mindset and get out of malicious ones.

t_berium ,
@t_berium@lemmy.world avatar

Don't be an asshole.

Glytch ,

People are more helpful if you're nice to them.

InternetPerson ,

Form your opinions critically, don't easily judge.

t_berium ,
@t_berium@lemmy.world avatar

Thinking from every possible direction. Multiple times. Over and over.
(Exhausted overthinker here)

stoy , (edited )

"To be an adult, you need to know when it is apropriate to be childish"

"Never paint the devil on the wall, unless he stands in the hallway, so make sure you have some paint at home"

"Honesty lasts longest"

The first advice here basically boils down to "remember to have fun in a responsible manner", I like the original phrasing better as is more fun and also implies as shitload more knowledge.

The second advice is a modified version of a Swedish saying, it boils down to, "don't expect the worst, but if it happens, take notes and learn, oh and you should have a pen and notebook at home". I like this as well as it again tells you to relax, but learn from mistakes and be prepared to learn from them.

The third advice is just common sense, life just gets so much easier if you act and speak honestly, this obviously doesn't mean to be brutaly honest or blatantly selfish as long as you are honest. But rather avoid situations that would require you to lie.

EDIT:

I just thought about another peice of advice:

"If you have nothing to hide, then you can't be trusted"

We all have secrets, some are just embarrasing, others can destroy lives, stating that you have nothing to hide is one of the worst ways to try and gain trust, since it means one of two things:

  • You are a liar, as previously stated everyone has things to hide, so you are just plain lying.

  • You won't keep a secret, if asked you will tell others priveleged information given to you.

stoy ,

never tell the whole truth

This is dumb, and in many cases outright illegal.

If you are giving testamony in court you are required to tell the whole truth regarding the situation.

There are absolutely other times when you should tell the whole truth, so this statement is just dumb.

untorquer ,

Even in court you have to use some judgment to determine what the whole truth is, under what context, and to the extend of your memory or a reasonable expectation of enforcement of the idea.

There's also limitation with self incrimination/5th.

But as a generality, omitting information on socials, whatever registration form, etc... In everyday life is a reasonable practice for preserving privacy.

Being dishonest with friends & family is messed up tho.

stoy ,

A partner having a rule to say that you should NEVER tell the whole truth would be an instant red flag in any relationship I am in.

The fact that that kind of rule exists for them means that they will never be completely honest with me, and I won't accept that.

Now, obviously, there are times when you use a white lie or omit stuff, that is normal, but to constantly omit stuff, to the point where a rule is needed?

Nope.

untorquer , (edited )

I actually agree! Mutual trust relies on clear, full communication to the extent of one's abilities.

I think the problem with the original statement is the absolute "never" which i defaulted to taking as a generality when interacting with impersonal third parties. This was an unreasonable assumption in my part.

Fir example, I'm going to lie to Facebook and Google. Period. But never to friends and SOs, and rarely to individual humans outside of survival in threatening circumstances.

JokeDeity ,

The toilet paper should make a beard, not a mullet.

Iceblade02 ,

If it sounds too good to be true - it probably is.

ouRKaoS ,

Everything in moderation; including moderation.

Potatos_are_not_friends ,

Sometimes you gotta go all out!

(But do so in moderation)

ZeffSyde ,

"Smell once, wash twice."

BonesOfTheMoon ,

Never tie your finances to that of a crazy person.

jaschen ,

Care about yourself first and then care about others after.

Esp true if the oxygen mask falls down on a flight.

Simulation6 ,

Never pass up an opportunity to sit down or relieve yourself.
95% of everything is crap, so appreciate it when you find the 5%.

InternetPerson ,

Still looking for it.

toastal ,

Corporations aren’t your friend. Avoid the publicly-traded ones seeking quartely profits the most. If it isn’t a massive burden, find an alternative—avoiding some is better than none.

Potatos_are_not_friends ,

I'd add "Don't defend any corp".

Not just talking to the Tesla bros either. I mean ANY corp. Including Steam.

You can show support. But if/when they do something shitty, don't be a bootlicker.

Same with working. I've worked at a few major tech companies. No matter how many rainforests they saved or houses they built. At some point, a bad decision will infuriate you, or a new directive will aim for profits and people lose their jobs.

They're not your friend.

toastal ,

I read that as “don’t defend any cop” …Also good advice

MufinMcFlufin ,

I think I would change that one to sometime along the lines of "No corporation is above criticism." Maybe with some addendum like "regardless of how favorably you view them." The reason being is that I think it's perfectly fine to try to set a record straight if there's blatant misinformation going on about a corporation that's been doing good by people, but no matter how much good they might have done they should never be above critique.

Case and point being LMG with their recent issues regarding allegations of sexism, harassment, overworking employees, bullying, and adopting the exact same practices that they themselves have criticized major tech corps for, among other issues. Now I don't mind correcting the record if someone was saying some stupid BS about them, however you can bet that I was also one of the ones calling them out on the things they did.

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