The Great Advice Thread

[Haysey_Draws]

Sometimes if your feeling tired, drink some water, it can help more then caffeine.

...in fact, just drinking more water is great advice!

Oh and something i live by on the internet...just don't be a dick. Nobody likes a dick.

[eachpassingphase]

My mom (a former US Marshall and kind of a hard-ass in general) used to always tell us; "play stupid games, win stupid prizes" when we would injure ourselves doing something irresponsible. I still think about that before I'm about to do something that I know is dumb.

Also, if anybody here has ever struggled with fitness or weight loss, then I highly suggest you read the Henry Rollins essay "The Iron and the Soul". It's short, but a beautiful challenge that really helped me out a lot. http://rosstraining.com/blog/2009/12/04/iron-and-the-soul-by-henry-rollins/

I also once had somebody tell me that anytime you make a purchase, you should take a minute to think about how many hours you had to work to purchase that item and then decide if you really want it. This especially came in handy back when I was working for minimum wage because the jobs are usually miserable and you buy yourself a lot of cheap comforts when you are low-income and hate your job. So I would think about grabbing fast food late and night, then realize that I had to work 1-2 hours at the job I hated for a shitty plate of McDonald's or whatever. I walked away from a lot of needless purchases due to that advice and it really helped me out.

[theimage13]

I also once had somebody tell me that anytime you make a purchase, you should take a minute to think about how many hours you had to work to purchase that item and then decide if you really want it. This especially came in handy back when I was working for minimum wage because the jobs are usually miserable and you buy yourself a lot of cheap comforts when you are low-income and hate your job. So I would think about grabbing fast food late and night, then realize that I had to work 1-2 hours at the job I hated for a shitty plate of McDonald's or whatever. I walked away from a lot of needless purchases due to that advice and it really helped me out.

I do something similar. I mean, sometimes I do exactly that. But sometimes I look at it as bartering for other things that I *might* want to buy. Like "okay...if I buy this video game, I need to tell myself 'no' the next three times I feel like going to the pub for a pint." Stuff like that. In essence, it's just basic budgeting - setting aside X amount of money for non-essentials - but comparing it to other things helps me think "which one of these would I rather spend my money on?" and that helps my decision-making.

[eachpassingphase]

I like the concept of internally bartering. I do that with my diet sometimes too. Like, "well, you can have that pizza but it means you are eating grilled chicken for the next two days" or whatever.

[Halo Infinity]

Two classic quotes that I still sometimes tend to take for granted or even forget altogether.

Just because you can doesn't mean you should.

Play stupid games. Win stupid prizes. (I only learned about this one not too long ago, but it's still definitely something to constantly keep in mind, especially whenever I'm out and about in the world in a less than okay mood/mindset.)

[Halo Infinity]

I've thought about this time and time again and figured that this thread would be the best and only thread to pass down the sage advice my father gave me when it comes to being absolutely inoffensive, non-confrontational while minding your own business.

He somehow learned to keep his personal life separate from his academic life long before working, so by the time he was working, keeping his professional life and personal separate came natural to him, nor did he have to be taught such a thing. It also helped that he was introverted and conflict averse. Unlike me though, he fortunately had the wisdom to figure this out on his own.

Oh yes, and he also let me know that most of this advice is pretty much useless in terms of dating and trying to make friends. This is more for when you'd rather be low-key and just not rock the boat, while keeping your school and/or work life separate from your personal life. Having people leave you alone often seems to be the end-product of this advice. Interestingly enough, my father was also excellent at making friends. He was an accountant as well, with a master's degree. And go figure, that once he retired, he admitted to me that he had the reputation as "A man of few words." And for all this chattering you see here, I take from my mother. Who is pretty much an extrovert and polar opposite of my dad and his advice altogether.

To any fellow people struggling with social awkwardness, I hope you benefit from this sage advice as much as I did. I was taught this in very late 2014 and early 2015. This was the result of our discussions. As funny as this is, he thought I'd learn this on my own, and didn't teach me this because I didn't ask. Admittedly, of course, some of this really is common sense, but once he filled me in with more details, everything just fell into place. It's like "Be quiet and mind your own business.", but right down to the nitty-gritty.

1. Do not speak to people unless they speak to you first. Say nothing.

2. Do not talk about people's personalities and personal lives. Mention no such thing. Keep all conversation impersonal as possible. If at school/work, just keep it school/work related.

3. If you actually converse, focus on what people love, like and agree with and believe in. Be as agreeable as possible. Avoid all disagreements as much as possible too.

4. Do not express any negative thoughts, emotions or opinions. You don't necessarily have to smile, laugh or be joyful/enthusiastic either, but always have good news to say. Or at the very least, just be calm and rational. Never complain. Hide every trace of "bad thoughts/feelings".

5. In some cases, yes you will have to pretend to be super happy and positive, like at job interviews and such, or to at least not be a downer at certain gatherings, so yes, even then you have to be like an actor at a movie or a play. Think of it as one of those "absolutely necessary" lies.

6. Do not be nosy. (Don't ask about people's lives or what they do/like etc. Don't even ask about how they are or what they did/do. Engage in small-talk if needed for the sake of tact and diplomacy, but don't lead the conversation into anything personal. Leave them alone, or at least those topics out of the conversation. Do not ask about them at altogether. Just be silent and mind your own business.)

7. Do not over-share. (Never share anything about your life. Do your best to keep your personal life secret/private from others. Keep everything to yourself as much as possible. The less people know about your life, the better.)

8. Back to number 3 in a way, be as agreeable as possible. This doesn't necessarily mean agreeing just to please them all the time, but try your best to tactfully and gracefully avoid any topics that will ultimately lead to disagreements and conflict.

9. Keep everything impersonal and distant. It's more than just silence, but the art of waiting for people to speak before you do.

10. In addition to number 9, listen and observe more than you speak.

11. At some point, make it clear that you don't want to mess with people or be messed with. (Of course, with my dad's advice on dating and making friends, humor AKA messing around via banter is sometimes a must. But this was on his advice in helping me mind my own business and stay out of trouble better.)

12. I wish a knew this sooner, but another reason to sometimes feign positive attitudes and happiness is due to the fact that there are a lot of people that can't stand being around pessimists and worriers, even if said pessimists and worriers aren't being rude, nagging, pissy and/or aggressive.

13. And yes. Sometimes you also have to tell people what they want to hear. Not only to soften the blows, but to prevent and avoid them altogether.

14. Speaking of negative emotions and thoughts, never express anger and sadness. Try to make it look like your are always happy and/or calm. Always look collected and in control. Never show insecurity. But don't get arrogant either. Balance it out. (Mind you, in his advice on standing up for yourself when necessary, he always told me to be frank. So he didn't tell me to be a doormat either. At the same time though, he also always stressed that I have the discernment to choose and pick my battles to know when it's worth it or not. Again, this advice is for just chilling in the background and keeping to one's self.)

15. Some people also hate to admit they don't know something and sometimes make things up as they go along to avoid admitting they don't know. Once you realize this, it helps you avoid even more conflict, since trying to get people to admit they don't know something, or even putting them in a position to admit that they don't something is sometimes the equivalent of telling them that they're wrong, even unintentionally. In some ways, don't just stick to what people agree, love, like and believe in. Stick to what they know too when in conversation.

I could imagine that my dad could very-well "write a book" on this subject, but I tried to at least condense it the best I could.

But yeah. You're shit out of luck in terms of dating and making/keeping friends with this advice, but it seriously helped me big-time in terms of being private, inoffensive and non-confrontational while minding my own business in and out of the workplace. It even lead to people leaving me alone and only speaking to me about work-related issues in the workplace. (Not that I meant to push them all away or avoid all of them at all times, but that seems to be a very normal reaction from what I've witnessed.)

I apparently still need to work on this though, because this advice is undoing about 30+ incredibly odd years or so of "social damage" on my part. If I knew all of this back then, either before I graduated high school or at the earliest, before even turning 13, my post history would also be either scaled down massively, or perhaps even non-existent.

[ickyvicky]

The Best Way to Reheat Pizza!

https://www.popsci.com/story/diy/bes...=pocket-newtab

[theimage13]

The Best Way to Reheat Pizza!

https://www.popsci.com/story/diy/bes...=pocket-newtab

So because I'm bored and eat too much pizza, I've tried all of these over the years.

Honestly, my toaster oven is still my favorite method. Throw a slice in right on the rack, set it to toast, and when the timer runs out, I've got a slice that's almost better than fresh (light crisp to the bottom of the crust but still soft inside).

[Swykk]

I put the leftover pizza on a cookie sheet with non stick sprayed foil. I put it in the oven and preheat a number between 400 and 425 (depending on the thickness). When the oven successfully preheats, my pizza is ready and delicious.

[eversonpoe]

So because I'm bored and eat too much pizza, I've tried all of these over the years.

Honestly, my toaster oven is still my favorite method. Throw a slice in right on the rack, set it to toast, and when the timer runs out, I've got a slice that's almost better than fresh (light crisp to the bottom of the crust but still soft inside).

i microwave mine a few seconds first, and i put it on parchment in case there's any cheese drippage, but i agree. toasters are for chumps, everyone should get a toaster oven.

[theimage13]

I put the leftover pizza on a cookie sheet with non stick sprayed foil. I put it in the oven and preheat a number between 400 and 425 (depending on the thickness). When the oven successfully preheats, my pizza is ready and delicious.

Ever tried it without the spray? I've done it basically the same way before (foil and all) just without spray it and have been pretty happy with the results. Never tried it with a spray - does it actually add anything or are you just trying to make sure nothing sticks?

[SM Rollinger]

I've got a pizza "oven" that does wonders on all manners of pizzas, leftovers and cheaper ones, like the Jack's, Red Baron and Tombstones.

I'll microwave leftovers for about a minute, then put em on foil in the pizza oven for about 5 minutes, and deliciousness!!!

Any store bought non rising crust, ten minutes is all they need and the crust turns out Perfecto.

[Swykk]

Ever tried it without the spray? I've done it basically the same way before (foil and all) just without spray it and have been pretty happy with the results. Never tried it with a spray - does it actually add anything or are you just trying to make sure nothing sticks?

It is 100% to avoid sticking. I don’t use much.

[Halo Infinity]

As somebody that's dealt with serious rage issues his entire life, this video is quite the godsend. (It sometimes lead me to look up videos on fights, and this video happened to be one of the search results.) It wasn't just about how making peace with your ego, and learning how to gracefully apologize and walk away even when/if you're right and they're wrong was not only an important life-saving skill, but it also mentioned the fact that in order to be prepared for it, you should make that choice while you're cogent with clarity and in moments of peace, joy and solitude. Not just when you're actually threatened, attacked and endangered. (Even if it's just verbal.) I'd recommend this to anybody that's also struggled with containing their rage, while also desiring to redirect that energy, not only in a more positive way, but a beneficial, healthy and even life-saving/improving way. It really is all far too true and real that your anger will punish you in the long-run. It's guaranteed.

[katara]

Don't have children.

... or do. It's your life.