Get Premium
Dark mode theme is available exclusively for premium users. Learn more about the benefits of subscribing.
No fees, cancel anytime.
Dark Mode 
No fees, cancel anytime 
Did you know that according to Ipsos, a multinational market research and consulting firm, on average across 30 countries, two in three adults (67%) consider themselves “happy”?
A pretty decent number, isn't it?
Well, life is not always blissful. It loves to kick you in your bottom, and as a result, you often find yourself facing some serious obstacles and hardships.
Whether it’s work-related stress, responsibilities that you find overwhelming, situations that you have little to no control over, or perhaps you’re simply going through a period of uncertainty – most of the time, all you want to do is talk to someone who’ll be able to knock some sense back into you by offering you a piece of wise advice.
But here’s the catch, most of the advice is complete and utter garbage.
“What’s a common ‘life pro tip' that is actually bad advice?” – this web user took to one of Reddit’s most philosophical and enlightening communities, asking its members to offer their serious takes on the world’s poorest life advice. The thread managed to garner nearly 24K upvotes as well as 6.3K comments containing some pretty eye-opening statements.
More info: Reddit
This post may include affiliate links.
#1
If a girl has declined to go out with you, that means you stop asking her. It’s not her playing hard to get, she just isn’t interested, unless she surprises you and says otherwise. So don’t follow the “If she says no, you’ve just gotta keep trying” b******t, just respect her boundaries.
RELATED:
#2
“You can do anything that you put your mind too.” No...you can’t. Not everyone is good at everything , and the sooner you make peace with your own limitations, the more successful you’ll become.
#3
“If you can’t love yourself you can’t love someone else”
Makes everyone with any mental illness feel unlovable and hopeless
DennyS (denzoren) 1 year ago
I feel this to my bones...and yes it makes you feel like c**p too. I know what they mean but it doesn't mean you're not worth being loved either.
#4
ABSOLUTELY DO SAVE BIRDS THAT FELL OUT OF THEIR NESTS! You're letting them die if you don't, their mom doesn't give a single s**t about their smell so please save them.
#5
“Never give up.” Sometimes you should give up. Sometimes you’ll try your best and it still won’t work out.
#6
"Just come out, even if your parents hate you it's better than being someone you're not!"
No. No nono noooooooooooo. Come out when it's *safe*. when you have somewhere else to live. You've faked it for this long, you can do a little longer and stay alive. It sucks, it hurts, it's a b***h and unfair, but you'll live.
Some parents realise they're jerks and become accepting, some realise they were too accepting and outright murder thier child. Be. Safe.
#7
"Always listen to your elders" and "Old people are smarter / wiser"
I don't care who you are, what relationship I have with you, or expecially how old you are. Anyone can be a dumbass.
Thor Haugen 1 year ago
There are lots of old prejudices out there that don't need to be passed on. I am not saying every older person has them, but in my experience a lot of them do.
#8
"You can't smell vodka."
Yes. Yes you can. And you reek of it.
Headless Roach 1 year ago
Absolut'ely. Byproducts of alcohol metabolism can be smelled in the breath and all over your skin through sweat glands.
Clown fish 1 year ago
And if a headless roach can smell it so can use none head missing foke
Load More Replies...
Benita Valdez 1 year ago
As an experienced drinker and former bartender, I don't think I've come across any alcohol that doesn't leave a scent. Maybe a light fruity drink or one with alot of non alcoholic mixers, but other than that, you smell like booze when you drink alcohol, especially vodka and other hard liquors or spirits.
Paul Brown 1 year ago
My cousin was an alcoholic and all he drank was vodka and he seriously thought we couldn't smell it. RIP Joseph.
Phil Amylon 1 year ago (edited)
In what universe is "you can't smell vodka," a common life pro-tip?
D. Pitbull 1 year ago
Thank you - I never understood this. I was wondering if I was super weird or something. Like.. how do you NOT smell the alcohol tunneling its way up your nose???
Michael Largey 1 year ago
Whether you can smell vodka really depends on how much you've drunk.
Bexxperience 1 year ago
I think we can blame that 90's flick "When a man loves a woman", where Meg Ryan played an alcoholic. I distinctly remember her hiding vodka bottles around the house, "because you can't smell vodka".
Krista Stenvall 1 year ago
You can't smell it when for example dripping some on sofa and it evaporates unlike some other drinks. But you CAN smell it on breath and when it is liquid.
#9
“Ignore the bullies and they’ll stop.”
This advice makes me want to slap a b***h. You are giving them and everyone who sees it permission.
Silence is acceptance. That is the real advice.
Thatkamloopsguy 1 year ago
I have to be honest, the only way I was finally able to stop being bullied as a kid was to beat the sh it out of him. He never bothered me ever again.
#10
Never go to bed angry
Sometimes you just need some time to chill the f**k out and ruminate in why you’re angry. Constantly talking about everything is what they show on TV, but if you don’t have time to process your feelings you can just end up fighting even more than if you just took a day to chill
Jessica Specht 1 year ago
You probably shouldn't go to sleep angry, but you should DEFINITELY take time apart from the other person to process emotions from the fight before discussing it calmly with that person.
#11
Anything that advises you to be a d**k to someone who seemingly doesn't deserve it.
"be macho, women love that s**t"
"Don't worry about your friend that says you're mean, he's a pussy"
"Your employer will appreciate you being agreessive and brutish"
As a general rule, being a d**k is rarely, RARELY a good idea
#12
"Looks don't matter."
No matter how confident you are with yourself it is inevitable that people will judge you based on your appearance.
Headless Roach 1 year ago
So true! Everybody is like "hey, where's your head?" My inner beauty gets completely ignored.
#13
“If a boy is mean to you, it means he likes you”
No, it means he’s likely a bully and leads women to staying in abusive relationships because ‘he Loves me”
DennyS (denzoren) 1 year ago
This has always puzzled me when I was a kid. Like...it didn't make any sense. Why would I be mean to someone I like?
#14
“Just be happy” or “look on the bright side”. Great overall advice, but sometimes in the moment, it can be the absolute worst. Sometimes things just suck and we want to break down and cry. That’s okay. We shouldn’t be talked out of those emotions when we’re upset and obviously feeling low.
#15
"You can be *anything* you wanna be"
No, you can't. People with money *could* be anything they wanna be. The rest of us probably have to work really hard to *maybe* attain our goals if we are lucky.
#16
"If you can't handle me at my worst, you don't deserve me at my best."
Absolutely wrong and super self-centered. At our worst, we're all super s****y and our loved ones don't deserve that. Some may not be able to handle us at our worst due to their own life stress and mental health conditions. This is just a recipe for pushing important people away.
#17
"You should do some math before accepting a raise, because it might put you in the next tax bracket and you actually take home less money."
THAT'S NOT HOW TAX BRACKETS WORK.
Let's say the first tax bracket is $10,000 at 10%. That means you fork over $1,000 to Uncle Sam and take home $9,000.
For the sake of simplicity, let's assume the next tax bracket is 20%. You are offered a raise of $500, making your total income $10,500.
This does not mean *the entire $10,500* is taxed at that 20% rate!
That first $10,000 is taxed at 10%...then the remaining $500 in the next tax bracket is taxed at 20% (which is $100).
Out of that $10,500, you fork over $1100, and take home $9,400. You take home $400 more!
**Never reject a raise *just* because it puts you in the next tax bracket. There is no such thing as taking home less money because you are "in" a higher tax bracket.**
Edit: this is *only* about tax brackets. There are still plenty of good reasons to reject a raise - i.e. benefits cliffs, pay not matching new workload, etc. I'm just here to say that "losing money because you get taxed more" *is not one of them*, because that doesn't exist/that's not how the tax brackets work.
Edit 2: this is also specific to the U.S. Not commenting on other countries' tax structures.
#18
"I have an idea. [Propose, announce pregnancy, come out, announce divorce] at [name]'s [wedding, funeral, birthday, birthing, reception, graduation].
No. You are stealing their attention and ruining it. If you do that, that is selfish.
#19
"Just be yourself" "you're perfect just the way you are" and "never let anyone change you" are double edged swords preventing many people from growing out of horrid habits or bad personality traits.
If a lot of people are telling you to change your behavior, chances are you're gonna f**k up your life if you dont pay attention.
LizzieBoredom 1 year ago
You have to be yourself because when you try to be someone else all you hear is "stop using my credit cards".
#20
There's no real catchy way to put it, but the sentiment that your life revolves around your job. You don't have to have a "career" or be ultra-successful in your field. You just have to have a job that lets you earn enough money to enjoy your life and achieve all the things you want to do outside of work.
GirlFriday 1 year ago
I have always subscribed to the "work to live, don't live to work" school of thought. I am in upper management and I have a great career. Not once in the 10 years that I have been with this company has anyone made me feel like taking time off would hurt my career or put me behind. I do my best to make my employees feel the same way. If they are sick, they should stay home and rest. If they have PTO, they should take it. They can't be productive at work if they are burnt out and disgruntled. I have them for 8 hours a day, that is enough.
#21
You can’t run away from your problems/bloom where you’re planted.
Not always bad advice, but sometimes you absolutely do need to leave a toxic environment before your life can improve
#22
“Practice makes perfect.”
No it doesn’t. Practice makes permanent. If you continuously repeat shoddy work, you’ll just become very efficient at making that shoddy work, and it’ll be hard for you to ever improve.
Practice along with introspection, analysis, and feedback makes perfect.
#23
"If you work harder than everyone else, you'll *always* get what you want."
No. Just no.
Sometimes s**t happens. Hard work doesn't guarantee success. Some people, though untalented and lazy, cruise through life. And some people who work hard every single day struggle to make ends meet. There's no guarantee that hard work will get you to where you want to be.
Edit: Okay this blew up overnight and I feel like I should clarify some things. The emphasis here was on the word "always". You don't *always* get what you want. Yes, hard work is important and necessary in life. But you don't *always* get what you want just by working hard. If I wanted to be as rich as Jeff Besos tomorrow, I wouldn't be able to do it *just by working hard*. Maybe I can do it, maybe I can't. But I'm going to need a lot more than hard work to get me there. Some other things you also need are perseverance, resilience, discipline and a good plan. You don't *always* get what you want by *only* working hard. That being said, yes, hard work is important, kids. So is working smart. Have there been people who have succeeded without having to work hard? Yes. Have there been people who have received opportunities that the "hard-worker" did not get simply because they were born richer or they had better connections? Absolutely. Have there been people who have succeeded by working hard? I sure hope so. But hard work doesn't guarantee that you will get exactly what you want all the time.
#24
I kind of have "no excuses" drilled into me but...sometimes there are legit reasons why you can't do something.
Also, not everything has a Hollywood ending. Sometimes you can't do something, sometimes you fail and have to give up. Being realistic about that isn't a bad thing.
Fantastic Mr Fox 1 year ago
Am I missing a joke with "bussy" or can't people spell "busy" anymore? Also don't google "bussy".
#25
"If you do what you love, you will never work a day in your life."
Many people use this advice thinking they'll be able to easily coast through life and are shocked when they have to face the reality of it being an actual job. When you do something that you love as a career rather than as a hobby, it becomes much more serious and has more responsibilities. Sometimes it can even lead to you hating the thing you used to love.
This isn't to discourage anyone who wants to pursue a career in something they enjoy, like a photographer or a chef. If you want to have a career doing something you enjoy, that's great. But you have to go in knowing that it won't be all sunshine and rainbows 100% of the time. There will be difficulties from time to time and you won't have the same amount of freedom that you used to have when it was just a hobby. As long as you go in knowing that and are willing to adapt and work hard, you'll be fine.
#26
"Getting a 4-year degree is essential for a successful career"
Acquiring marketable skills in a field you enjoy is what matters, not spending X amount of time in college. Many 4-year degrees leave you with very few skills that are needed in the job market, while many trade school programs only take a few months and put you on the track to a high paying job.
Spencer's slave 1 year ago
Get a trade instead. Far cheaper, or free, and the world will always need trades people. Apprenticeships, once the backbone of trades, are becoming more available and accessible. Also, if you have a "manual labour" job that you enjoy and are good at, stick two fingers up at people who look down their noses at you! After all, the person with the oh so important degree, whose whole life is dictated by their very important career, wouldn't have a nicely manicured lawn or clean windows etc without you.
#27
I think the pursuit for perfection, especially in the age of social media. Aiming for an ideal 8 hours of sleep, all fresh veg/fruit/wholegrain diet, perfect study and work habits with Instagram shots of colour coded notes, expensive skin care routine, 1.5L of water a day, getting up at 5 AM for a run, abstaining from all vices.
It's good to strive to be the best version of yourself, but the unnecessary pressure to excel at all these things seem detrimental more than anything else. I put a lot of time/effort into work and am good at my job, I have great physical and mental health. If I want to eat doughnuts with vodka shots at 11 PM, or stay up watching Bob's Burgers until 2 AM, or skip my run and head to work, I should be able to do that sometimes. Wellness is not a competition, and an elastic band stretched far enough will snap.
Remi (He/Him) 1 year ago
Just a reminder that orthorexia is a disorder and it sounds heck of a lot like this bad advice
#28
"They're family! Let it go!"
My dad (who is a doctor) watched as I got a viral infection that spread to my brain and I went blind and deaf. He called my mom and said I'd be dead by the time he got home from work the next day. My sister (who hasn't spoken to him since middle school) had to break into his house, find me, call 911. Dad was mad that she broke in, said nothing about me.
Luke Branwen 1 year ago
Family is like an appendix. You do have only one, but if it becomes toxic and dangerous, you cut it off.
#29
"Tip your head back to stop a nosebleed"
Don't do that. Tip your head slightly forward with a kerchief pressed under your nose and allow the blood to clot.
Gourdeous 1 year ago (edited)
Pinch for 3 minutes on the squishy bit above your nostrils and below the bony bit. Don't keep checking if it has stopped- just squeeze. Neutral head position is fine.The bleeding spot needs to clot. Once it stops, don't blow hard or go fishing or wipe/clean roughly- you don't want to dislodge the clot.
#30
Not posted on reddit much, but almost any boomer advice is useless in 2020.
**-Just go up to the manager, shake their hand, and ask for a job!**
*They will think you are weird and tell you to apply online*
**-Keep asking out that love interest over and over! You'll wear them down!**
*Borders on stalking and is likely a giant waste of time that won't turn into a lasting relationship*
**-Pull up your bootstraps and work a part-time job to pay for college/a home!**
*College and homes have gotten markedly more expensive and wages have stagnated for the past 30 years*
What do you think ?
Tyke 1 year ago (edited)
"Someone has it worse off/at least you're alive... so be grateful" is also incredibly toxic. It's not a competition, my Dad taught me "everyone's pain is their own (and should be respected)".
Hey! 1 year ago
My oldest brother is like that and he's one of the reasons why I don't go to family reunions anymore.
Load More Replies...
Ericthedead 1 year ago
I didn’t care for this post. I’m not saying others shouldn’t but I just don’t agree with a lot of it.
Seabeast 1 year ago
So it's just pure coincidence that this "young creator" has your name?
Load More Replies... Tyke 1 year ago (edited)
"Someone has it worse off/at least you're alive... so be grateful" is also incredibly toxic. It's not a competition, my Dad taught me "everyone's pain is their own (and should be respected)".
Hey! 1 year ago
My oldest brother is like that and he's one of the reasons why I don't go to family reunions anymore.
Load More Replies... Ericthedead 1 year ago
I didn’t care for this post. I’m not saying others shouldn’t but I just don’t agree with a lot of it.
Seabeast 1 year ago
So it's just pure coincidence that this "young creator" has your name?
Load More Replies... Related on Bored Panda
