Skip to content
Search AI Powered

Latest Stories

People Break Down Which Pieces Of Advice Are Exclusively Good In Theory, Not In Practice

People Break Down Which Pieces Of Advice Are Exclusively Good In Theory, Not In Practice
Image by Gerd Altmann from Pixabay
Make us preferred on Google

In an ideal world, every piece of well-thought out advice would be foolproof. If every bit of knowledge that was passed down to you worked every single time, well, more people would be open to receiving it. But that's not the case. Here are some pieces of advice that work best in theory, but not so much in practice.

u/josh_carling asked: What is good advice in theory but awful in practice?



Good point.

"The right person will come, don't sweat it"

Not if you're rotting indoors all day every day and don't bother with hygiene or anything resembling fashion. I get what people mean when they say it, but a lot of the time it comes across like "Do nothing, make no effort". I see people give that advice a lot to others that are down on their luck, and it's a nice sentiment, but don't get the wrong idea... a lot of it is luck, but you have to put yourself in a position to be lucky in the first place, if that makes sense.

lightningheels

It's ok to give up sometimes.

Giphy

"Never give up."

There are times when you absolutely should give up, quite a lot in fact.

pausebreakalex

Had I taken this advice in college my final GPA would have been MUCH better- but I refused to drop classes I was failing.

stos313

True.

Be yourself. No, be the best person you can possibly be. Don't be lazy, mean, or a pushover.

Noclasshere

"Be yourself. Unless 'yourself' is an a**hole."

CoyoteTheFatal

THIS.

If you keep going into a place you applied for a job and ask to talk to the manager you'll get the job eventually.

I'm sure this worked before the internet but no one wants you to keep bugging them for a job in 2020.

Administrative-Koala

My dad told me to go into Dollar Tree and told me to tell the manager that I'm not leaving until I have a job there...

The manager almost called the cops on me.

Kinsloth12

Bad advice.

Giphy

If you ignore bullies they will just go away.

threedogafternoon

Honestly the best advice I ever got on bullies was to just beat them up.

Though nowadays there's cameras everywhere so I wouldn't recommend it unless you can make it look like self defense.

IShallPetYourDogo

The sad truth.

If you try hard enough you'll get what you want

Sometimes it just doesn't happen. It doesn't mean you stop trying but it's not guaranteed. Usually trying brings its own rewards - new skills, met new people etc.

popcorndragon93

It is possible to commit no errors and still lose. That is not a weakness, that is life. - Captain Jean-Luc Picard

fryingpas

Fair.

"You can become anything you want to".

Statistically no. You can't. You should maximise your opportunities and options. If you're a 5'6" kid with no athletic skill and a heart condition, you're not making the NBA no matter how hard you try.

karma_dumpster

Prepare for the worst.

Giphy

"Everything happens for a reason."

"It'll all work out in the end."

Any of those BS one liners don't hold water. Can you do something about the problem? Yes? Then do. No? Then prepare for the fallout.

My only advice is this: "Hope for the best, prepare for the worst."

im-a-guy-like-me

You shouldn't want to trade lives with anybody.

I saw a meme recently that said, "never take advice from someone you wouldn't trade lives with." Sounds great, until you realize that you can learn from others' mistakes...they could be giving you valuable advice on what not to do and how to avoid the pitfalls that ensnared them.

BananaFanaFoFaustin

Respect your elders. I don't care how old you are, if you're a d*ck I'm not going to give you respect because of your age.

RemoteConsequence9

Theres that old Tumblr adage of the different uses of respect.

Some people respect you as an authority.

Some people respect you as a person.

Some say, If you don't respect me I won't respect you.

But they mean, if you don't respect me as an authority, I wont respect you as a person.

That sh*t don't fly with me.

TheHeroicLionheart

More from Trending/best-of-reddit

Paul Rudd
Valerie Terranova/Getty Images for Cunard

Paul Rudd Was Just Spotted Peering Into The Brooklyn Store That's Feuding With Kelly Clarkson—And The Jokes Are On Point

Celebrities: They're just like us!

They get annoyed when they get bad customer service, like Kelly Clarkson, and they get hella nosey when the drama goes viral on the internet—like, it turns out, Paul Rudd.

Keep ReadingShow less
screenshot of Lisa Kearns' vandalized mayoral campaign sign
Lisa Kearns/Facebook

Canadian Candidate Goes Viral After Turning Defaced Campaign Signs Into Hilarious Viral Video

After pouring time and effort into a project, seeing all your hard work disrespected can draw justified anger. But a Canadian woman running for political office decided to turn the lemons life—or, more specifically, vandals—handed her into pitch perfect lemonade.

Lisa Kearns is a former city councilor who vacated her Ward 2 seat to run for mayor of Burlington, Ontario, Canada—a city of about 187,000 people on the western shore of Lake Ontario. Kearns discovered several of her campaign signs featuring her photo had been vandalized over the Canadian Thanksgiving (observed the second Monday of October) long weekend.

Keep ReadingShow less
Christina Ricci; Donald Trump
Gilbert Flores/Deadline via Getty Images; Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images

Christina Ricci Just Dropped A Brutal Truth Bomb On A 71-Year-Old MAGA Voter—And Fans Are Applauding

Yellowjackets star Christina Ricci did not mince words after a 71-year-old MAGA voter on Threads vowed to "vote straight Red" in the upcoming midterm elections.

Threads user @janhunterlan, with the midterms just under two weeks away, identified herself as a 71-year-old with an entire family "in California, Texas, Arizona, and Michigan, plus Pensilvania [sic]" that "will be voting straight Red" on November 3.

Keep ReadingShow less
James Talarico; Elon Musk
Sergio Flores/Getty Images; Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images

James Talarico Just Clapped Back Hard After Elon Musk Said There's 'Something Deeply Wrong' With Him

Texas Democratic Senate nominee James Talarico responded after trillionaire Elon Musk claimed "there's something deeply wrong" with him.

Just days ago, news outlets reported that Musk donated $158 million to a Republican super PAC, the Senate Leadership Fund, in September. The money he donated swelled the coffers of Texas PAC, a group that is backing Paxton, the Texas attorney general. Musk also made a $10 million donation to Lone Star Liberty PAC, another group that has thrown its support behind Paxton.

Keep ReadingShow less
LaMelo Ball #1 of the Minnesota Timberwolves celebrates a three-point basket against the Detroit Pistons.
David Berding/Getty Images

NBA Star Sparks Backlash After Saying That Changing His Infant Son's Diapers Is 'Not My Job'

It's 2026, but NBA star LaMelo Ball apparently hasn't gotten the memo that fatherhood has moved beyond the 1950s. The Minnesota Timberwolves point guard is catching heat after declaring that changing his infant son's diapers is "not my job."

The 25-year-old made the eyebrow-raising admission during an Inside the NBA interview with Ernie Johnson Jr. ahead of his October 21 debut with Minnesota.

Keep ReadingShow less