‘What’s the weirdest advice you’ve heard that is strangely effective?’ – 30 proper game changers

The world is full of so-called ‘good advice’ which turns out to be bad advice. It’s also full of weird advice which – hard to believe we know – is actually very, very good advice.

We say this – stick with us please – after Redditor memereda_vanwolf asked this.

“What is the weirdest advice you have heard that is strangely effective??”

And it prompted lots of properly weird and genuinely helpful advice. You never know, you might even find a life changer or two in here (we did …)

1.

‘To improve your posture, pretend that you are shooting lasers out of your nipples and trying to shoot people in the head.’
Lt_Dickballs

‘LMAO when I was trying to train myself to get better confidence and stop looking at the ground whenever I walk/talk etc, I would take walks and imagine that there are “headlights coming out of my tits” and I needed to shine the way.’
UpDoor

2.

‘If you can’t fight the fear, do it scared.

‘Got me through a lot of anxiety.’
ChasingAlnilam

3.

‘I tell myself my increased heart rate and racing thoughts are just signs that my body is priming itself to allow me to do something I didn’t know I could do.

‘I used to think they were signs to quit, but they’re really an ignition sequence.’
dramaticFlySwatter

‘Love “ignition sequence”! I think that will help my little one who struggles with anxiety. Thanks!’
Leaislala

4.

‘Don’t beat yourself up forever. Beat yourself up once then move on. Mr. Homer Simpson.’
Amy-Paradise

5.

‘If looking for something in a low light environment, try to use your peripheral vision.

‘I read about it in an old WWII manual about aerial combat at night. It has something to do with how eyes work. It has helped me many times over the years. For finding stuff in a darkened room, or outside in a field at night, not aerial combat.’
BMLortz

‘Also a great trick if you’re into astronomy and trying to find a faint star.’
meh679

6.

‘Counterintuitive maybe, but it helped my anxiety immensely: in general, no one cares about you, what you’re doing, or gives you a second thought once you’re out of their sight.

‘It really helped me to stop being self conscious all the time in public.’
crlove

7.

‘Fail quickly, as in: If your plan may not succeed, better to find out next week than next year. Helped me quit a suffocating job and dig into my own business 10/10.’
NNakedLunchDate

8.

‘Get someone to warm to you by asking them for a small favour – not asking to do something for them, but asking them to do something for you. I have no idea why this works, but it does.’
limegreenbunny

‘It makes them feel needed and important at least for you.’
soline

9.

‘When writing an e-mail, leave the recipient field until last.’
Ocsttiac

‘And add the attachments first!’
BMLortz

10.

‘No one thinks about you as much as you do. Meaning we’re all worried about people thinking about the tiniest embarrassing things we do, when no one really cares. It gave me freedom to take on more challenges and not worry about failure.’
derpitaway

11.

‘Two from elderly southern relatives:

‘Somethin’ ain’t nothin’— taking 5 minutes to workout, clean, work on a big project, etc. is better than 0minutes. We often think we’ve got to do 2 hours of rigorous work or it doesn’t accomplish anything.

‘Time will pass either way—if you want to work to get better at something, accomplish a long term goal, or change careers or credentials, don’t look at the 2-5 years and think you’ll be too old. If you’re 24 and want to go to college, you’ll be 28 in four years with or without a degree regardless of what you do in that time.’
Mild-Intrigue

12.

It’s only embarrassing if you’re embarrassed. The older I get, the more I understand this one.
Endless Coolness

13.

‘Don’t give excuses unless they ask for it. I.e if you are late for work, just say that you are late. Not why you are late.
Gurkeprinsen

14.

“Sucking at something is the first step to being sorta good at something.”

‘Honestly, it’s deflated the embarrassment of making mistakes when learning new things. It’s OK to suck at something on your way to okayness.’
Danglebort

15.

‘For all my adhd’ers or other who struggle with executive function, do chores while waiting. Have something in the oven? Let’s see how much laundry you can fold before the timer goes off. Microwave? I bet you can empty the dishwasher in 90 seconds. On a phone call? Pop in those earbuds and let’s tidy while we talk.

‘I get so hung up on Waiting Mode™️, and the novelty of trying to accomplish a small task during that interim feels a bit like a deadline pressure, which is basically the only thing that motivates me. Tricking my brain into a mini productive panic is startlingly effective.’
YaBoyfriendKeefa