What's the Best Advice You've Ever Received?
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Let's face it: People love to give advice! It doesn't matter whether you are trying to pick a diet, find a workout program or make just about any other important decision in your life. Whatever you are thinking about doing, it is unlikely that you will ever encounter a shortage of advice from friends, relatives or just plain nosy observers. But the mere fact that so many people are willing to give advice doesn't mean that most of it is worth taking!
That's why asking people for the best advice they've ever received is such a golden interview question. In fact, many authors have created best-selling books merely by compiling great advice. Even Donald Trump used this tactic once. And The Best Real Estate Advice I Ever Received is one of the Donald's most popular book titles to date.
I guess it wouldn't be fair for me to introduce a topic like this without sharing a piece of advice that I have found to be worth its weight in gold. When I was learning to play golf, I used to get extremely frustrated anytime I would hit a bad shot. I would lose my composure and my entire mindset would start to change. Even if I was playing really well up until that point, all of my confidence would melt away after one really bad shot. Then my father told me to put the bad shots behind me.
This is a piece of advice that I now apply to all aspects of my life… including weight loss and fitness. Like many of you, I am trying to lose weight right now. In fact, I subscribe to the eDiets DeliciouslyYours meal delivery program, and I struggle to make the time to get to the gym.
What is so frustrating for me is that I reached my goal weight a few years ago. I even managed to stay within my ideal weight range for over a year. I really thought I had this whole healthy lifestyle thing figured out. But gradually I let those extra pounds creep right back on. I have lots of explanations, for this but no real excuses!
Psychologically, I find that the battle to lose weight is much more difficult for me this time around. The fact that I lost the weight and gained it back is torturing me inside. Every time I see my pooching belly in the mirror, I want to erupt in a fit of rage. But then I hear my father's voice in my head telling me to put the bad shots behind me.
So, how about you? What's the best advice you've ever received? Let us know by posting a comment below. I can't promise that it will ever be included in a best-selling book, but we may include some of your comments in a future eDiets article.
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Comment: Friday, March 28, 2008 1:32:00 AM - 
said...
Someone once asked me if I would go to work in the morning without taking a shower or brushing my teeth first. Of coarse I said no. Then they said, so why would you leave the house without execising first? I didn't have a good answer and now I do just that almost every day. I feel great.
Comment: Friday, March 28, 2008 6:37:00 AM - said...
Eat five times a day, nothing to eat after 6pm and exercise.
Carl
Comment: Friday, March 28, 2008 7:26:00 AM - said...
What's done is done. Move forward - there is no other way to go now.
Comment: Friday, March 28, 2008 8:07:00 AM - said...
When my husband and I reached the 7 year mark of our marriage, we struggled. My mom told me that if she had known how hard it would be to make her 2nd. marriage with my step-father work, she would have tried much harder at making her marriage with my dad last. That's pretty much why I'm still married 10 years later...so 17 years down and the future looks bright! Her advice also spills over into the rest of my life in many ways.
Comment: Friday, March 28, 2008 8:17:00 AM - said...
My house never seemed to be clean what with a then teenage son, his friends, 2 hairy cats and my less than perfect housekeeping skills.
One day, while sub teaching, I was moaning about my filthy house and how no one ever appreciated my cleaning things up. The music teacher quietly said, "clean for yourself and don't worry that no one appreciates your efforts."
Since then I clean and if I find dishes in the sink, towels on the floor, 2 days worth of newspapers beside a chair I just tidy up and enjoy the clean space as long as it lasts.
Comment: Friday, March 28, 2008 9:18:00 AM - said...
The best advice ever I received at 14 from a woman about 80. She said, the only things in life you'll ever regret are the things you didn't do. So live to the fullest, get excited and learn from your mistakes.
I have lived that way ever since. Life is a grand adventure!
Comment: Friday, March 28, 2008 9:29:00 AM - said...
Make yourself happy. No one should ever love you as much as you love yourself............My crazy mother said these words to me as a child and it took me years to understand why the word "should" is used instead of "will" or "can" or "could". But after much joy and much heartbreak over my 42 years, I realized that it is a pledge, not a statement of fact. When you have come to the end of your life, there are no do-overs. Make your only ride on this merry go round count and love yourself enough to LIVE for yourself.
This advice has changed my life.
Comment: Friday, March 28, 2008 12:14:00 PM - said...
my mother had an old autograph book, that I loved to read as a child.As a child herself, an honored teacher, had written there,
"your face is like a mirror,
reflecting what you do.
if your face is smiling,
life smiles back at you."
I was mesmerized by that peticular entry, each time I visited with her childhood memories.....
one day I just had to know the meaning of that advice given by her teacher all those years ago.
that night ,prayers said, ready for that reasuring, "goodnight I love ya" from mom.....I just ask her...
"Mom, what did that teacher mean?"
She smiled and told me how she had interpreted it herself,through her life time....
she said, it was the best advice I ever recieved, such a beautiful gift. continuing she explained,,,,
"I took it to mean that whatever I was doing, I should always do it the very best that I possibly could......the destination isn't the most important part of the journey....it is the enjoyment and laughter along the way... Always be proud of myself..
have a happy heart, be understanding...do good and life would be good to me.
she kissed my forehead, ending her conversation with," and it always has."
that memory always comes front and center in my head,in my heart,when I feel myself letting myself think bad thoughts and under appreciate myself and my ability to smile. I think back to that conversation with mom and say to myself...... "smile girl...what is your mirror reflecting?"
Comment: Friday, March 28, 2008 12:26:00 PM - said...
The biggest help I've gotten over years of dieting was a comment in a class I took in Baltimore in 1985. The class focused on emotional eating as number one reason why diets fail. The comment was: Life is tough! Get over it! Get going! I began to read things on how to get better by rational/emotive ways to see our problems. It is life long learning, but it has helped.
Comment: Friday, March 28, 2008 2:21:00 PM - said...
Be a Great Listener, Investigate all angles, Then MAKE UP YOUR OWN MIND.
Comment: Friday, March 28, 2008 3:09:00 PM - said...
I have been told that if I work hard it will pay off.Last semester I had really bad abdominal pains which continue to come and go this semester in school too yet that has not stopped me from taking fun classes to shape up.The best advice was that I can achieve anything I set my mind to,that I have one body and that I should treat it better:eat healthy,get sleep and work out while induling in moderation!
Ingrid from TX
Comment: Sunday, March 30, 2008 3:12:00 PM - said...
If you want to lose weight stay away from as much as possible fat and sugar in your diet.
Comment: Sunday, March 30, 2008 10:08:00 PM - said...
no matter how horrible something seems now, when you look back on it, the situation never looks as bad.
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