5 Pieces of Advice You Should Probably Stop Taking
Sometimes people don't know what the fuck they're talking about.
1: “Look at the big picture.”
The big picture can be overwhelming, and much like sitting in the front row at the movie theater, whomst among us has the peripheral vision for that shit? I prefer to think of life like an adult coloring book. Just focus on filling in each small section one after another, and eventually the big picture will materialize.
2: “Get out of your comfort zone.”
Counterpoint: comfort zones are so named because they are pleasant to be in. Mine is a lounge chair by the pool, and anyone who aggressively urges me out of it is asking for a spray can of Coppertone 30 right up the ding-ding. Go ahead and climb on back into your comfort zone, friend. A literal “duvet day” (or just doing things the way you’re comfortable doing them) never hurt anybody.
3: “Think positive!”
Oh really. Have you noticed that everything is FUCKING FALLING APART? I’m sorry, but there comes a time when positive thinkers can snack on it. My money’s on pessimists to save the world—by being 100% correct to be deeply dismayed about the future, and then getting angry enough to make some goddamn changes around here.
4: “Act like a lady, think like a man.”
Pretty sure there is zero advice you or anyone else should be taking from this fellow.
5: “Never put off until tomorrow what you can do today.”
In my humble experience, putting some things off until tomorrow makes it more likely that you’ll get a few other things done today—rather than becoming paralyzed with inaction in the face of your enormous to-do list.
Instead, I recommend creating a “must-do” list, which is when you look at everything you have to do and then prioritize it by urgency—aka what actually MUST get done today. Move that stuff to the top of your list and save the rest for tomorrow. Responsible procrastination, for the win!
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A bit about me: I spent 15 years as a book editor in NYC before quitting that career to pursue a freelance life (a decision that involved a lot of red wine and a lot of tears). In 2015 I had the idea for my first book, The Life-Changing Magic of Not Giving a Fuck. And people loved it, so I kept writing! Today my sweary self-help series includes Get Your Shit Together, Calm the Fuck Down, Grow the Fuck Up, and more, with 3 million copies in print all over the world. You can also find me on Instagram, where my content skews tropical (in addition to quitting my job, I quit New York entirely and moved to a small fishing village in the Dominican Republic), plus food, cocktails, travel, and cats. So many cats.
#4: HOW is this an actual book?! *gag*