Thursday, December 31, 2015

Beyond the Books: Best Advice I've Been Given


This week I'm linking up with KissinBlueKaren for Beyond the Books.  This is a meme where we all answer a non-bookish question.  It's always so fun to see everyone's answers and get a peak at the blogger beyond the books.  This week's topic is - Best Advice I've Been Given.

The best advice I've ever been given comes from my dad which is funny because he's not really an advice kind of guy.  He's incredibly smart with a wickedly sharp sense of humor and a strong idea of how things should be but he's not one to tell people what to do.   Growing up we weren't very close but now he's probably one of my closest friends and we have lunch once a week.

Dad a few years ago in Colorado

When I was a teenager and going through a tough time feeling overwhelmed with a problem that I didn't think I could get through he listened to me whine one day and finally said, "You've got to stop looking at the big picture.  Take it one day at a time and if you can't do that take it one hour at a time."

That advice has really stuck with me and is something I've applied to more than just time.  Basically, if anything seems impossible break it up into small chunks until it becomes doable.

What was the best advice you've ever gotten?

29 comments:

  1. That is really great advice. And I love that you and your dad have gotten closer as you got older :)

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    1. It's definitely advice that I've leaned on a few times!

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  2. What a lovely story! So happy you and your Dad are close. I know you treasure those moments. Great advice. Some I need to take more often. :-)

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    1. It definitely helps me put things in perspective sometimes!

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  3. That's great advice. The best advice I've ever been given? My mom gave me great advice for when I was in college. She said find out what your professor wants and give it to him. She meant that in terms of assignments obviously. I think that also works for the workplace too.

    And then, of course, don't sweat the small stuff. Which is a big for me because I'm a major worrier.

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    1. That's good advice and advice I could've used in school! I have worrier tendencies too so I try to remember to not sweat the small stuff a pretty good bit!

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  4. That's great advice and so nice that you have a close relationship w/ your dad. Sometimes one day at a time is the best way to go, why bother trouble that hasn't happened yet? Great post, I forgot to do a Thursday one but hard to believe it's New Years already! Wow. Happy New Year!!

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    1. I definitely have to remind myself not to borrow trouble! It is crazy how fast December flew by! I felt like I had a handle on 2015 but December got completely out of control!

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  5. Excellent advice!

    Happy New Year!

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  6. Not only is your dad cute, but he's very wise and makes sense. Best advice my mom gave me was to know when to be smart enough to listen instead of jumping to a conclusion that could be wrong and potentially damaging. We may no always have listened to our parents as kids, but I think we value their advice when we're older. Happy New Year!

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    1. Definitely not jumping to conclusions is good advice! So many complications arise because we don't listen to each other!

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  7. Great advice. I try to remember that when I'm faced with something stressful. It always works out for the best.

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    1. It definitely works out for the best as long as we keep going.

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  8. Great advice! I have tried it, too, and it works. Thanks for sharing.

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    1. I do try to keep it in mind when things seem impossible.

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  9. That is priceless, because it is so true. One day at a time helps so many situations. Thanks for playing along this week!

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  10. Dad's can be good listeners when you need them. My dad's a smart guy too.
    That's great that you've gotten much closer with him. I think as we get older we definitely come to appreciate our parents a lot more.

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    1. It's nice to see your parents as people rather than authority figures. They can end up being rather awesome people!

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  11. That is very good advice. We tend to get overwhelmed with "the big picture" of how things are supposed to be, and forget that there are so many strange ways we could end up there, and if it's not how we had planned things to go, all is doomed.

    I actually talked about the best advice I'd ever gotten a few years ago as part of a blogging challenge. The best advice?

    "You won’t have good friends – really good friends – until you’re in your 30s."

    You can read the whole post here: https://girlof1000wonders.wordpress.com/?s=best+advice

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    1. I will definitely check out the post. It sounds like interesting advice!

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  12. It's terrific advice -- particularly for those of us who are worriers or deal with anxiety. It's so easy to let the worries snowball. One day at a time, one hour at a time, sometimes even 5 minutes at a time, and focus on the here-and-now, the little things you can do right now. Your dad sounds like a very wise man.

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    1. I definitely have some worrier tendencies so this has been really good advice for getting through all sorts of things!

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  13. What a great piece of advice - it's so easy to lose the little joys.

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    1. That really is such good advice. I think the most significant advice I've received in recent years is that it is okay to feel negative emotions. For so long, I fought to keep them inside, not realizing how damaging that can be. It's still a struggle at times, but I'm getting better at it.

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    2. That's definitely good advice. It's easy to feel bad for having negative emotions about things but denying them is never healthy.

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  14. Aw I love that you have lunch with your daddy every week. That's great advice. You know, I can't think of anything in particular from my mom or grandparents. Mainly they just led by example and I've used what I've seen them do over the years to get through and shape my daily life :)

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