Free Advice

Everybody has an opinion; the trick is paying attention to the ones that can change your life.

What better time for some advice than when the year is still so sparkling, brand new. So, here is a list of some free advice that comes to my mind…

-Always have a good mechanic.  You never know when your car might have its water pump go in ten degree temperature. I speak from personal experience.

-Slow and clear.  The aforementioned car mechanic leaves this little tidbit on his answering machine, right after he tells you to leave your name and number.  I think its excellent advice; because if no one can understand what you are saying there is no way they can properly assist you.

-When you fall down get back up.  This sounds like a no-brainer, but far too many of us allow life to get the best of us.  Like a boxer who just got cold cocked, we lie on the mat getting the ten count, because we are tired of being hit.  What we don’t realize is that the other guy must be getting tired too, as he just expended a lot of energy to knock you down.  The last thing he wants to see is you get back up again.

-Try to be slow to anger.  This is easier said than done.  Yet, remember people tend to respond to kind words over people who are seething at them.  Screaming never really gets what you want. It just bullies people into letting you have what you want, and who really wants that.

-Try not to think the worst of someone else.  Allow others to jump to conclusions about those who they don’t know the full story about, because knowing the full story is God’s job.

-Stop leaving the milk out. Fairly self-explainable, yet, as an adult I still struggle to remember to do this consistently.  Well, maybe this year. 

Recalculating is a good option.  Never stay stuck in a bad situation or with a bad way of thinking.  Just like the GPS says RECALCULATING when you make a turn it doesn’t like, and then helps you get where you need to go.

-Bent is not broken.  Bent people are just people who have had some stuff happen to them, and it has messed them up real good.  No one is perfect and hopefully we all learn from our mistakes and eventually can get things turned around.

-Losing is gaining.  Everyone at this time of the year wants to lose weight.  Eat less and exercise more basically.  However, what’s truly more sustainable is losing our complaining attitudes.

Well, technically I may not have given you the best advice for the New Year, but hopefully some sound advice. At the very least, it is free advice. Then again what do I know, I struggle with leaving the milk out overnight.

Free advice or not, the best advice any one can ever receive is to never give up.

Swavel