Musings on some horrible advice tropes

There are some common pieces of advice or inspirational sayings that appear all over the internet and on the lips of anyone’s overly enthusiastic friend or relative that spews banal superficial garbage in vain attempts at sounding philosophical.

The say “Yes” to everything/life or “Try anything once” type of advice is a prime example of poorly thought out guidance. Use some common sense and think about that for a minute. On the surface it seems like an inspired way to live your life to the fullest. What would actually happen if you followed this advice literally to its extreme? You’d likely regret a lot of things you decided to do while ignoring your so called uptight impulse to say no every once in a while. You want some advice? Listen to your gut. Say no when it doesn’t feel right. Don’t believe your inner voice is such a prude that you are missing out on so many grand adventures by listening to your conscience as opposed to doing the opposite. Life is not an episode of Seinfeld. You are not George Costanza. There are consequences.

How about the one that says it is better to regret something you did than something you didn’t do? Seriously? I have lived long enough to experience the results of actions I have regretted and I can assure you this advice is as foolish as it is catchy. There are a million choices a person can make in the course of their life that would warrant genuine regret. Ask the guy that lost a limb doing something stupid whether he is glad he did whatever he did to be permanently disabled. My guess is this hypothetical person would likely lament the decision that resulted in his disfigurement. I highly doubt he is satisfied that he tried to do a triple mctwist on a dirt bike over the Springfield Gorge, causing himself serious injury and harm, as opposed to having never attempted it.

One of my favorites is the one that suggests you should live each day as if it was your last. LMAO! Good one! If I were to do that I would have told my boss a long time ago to take a short walk off a long cliff. That would feel great at the time, I have no doubt. Let’s again use some common sense here. I know cool guys never look back at explosions and you are probably better off not peering back at your future employment prospects smoldering under the bridge you just burned. However, unless you have just won the Mega Millions Jackpot, I’d suggest holding off on such indulgences.

Knowing that there are consequences to even the most inspired life decisions is the wisest advice to live by. Consider the possible outcomes to the decisions you make. If you can live with the potential negative result of that choice, by all means go for it. If you cannot, think twice. Like every great carpenter knows, measure twice cut once. Common sense goes a long way.