What do you swear by?

Brand, thing, behavior, method, advice, mantra, etc.

I swear by Blackwing pencils.

Also, the ‘two minute rule’, which has really improved my life: “if it takes two minutes or less to do, just do it now; if it takes longer, schedule it.” I’ve got untreated attention issues and it’s very easy for me to notice something needing done, and overlook or procrastinate it because it seems inconvenient in the moment. Having a totally painless rule that forces me to acknowledge that thing I should pick up, that trash bag I should change, etc, or, to at least put on my calendar anything I mustn’t forget in the long run has been great for me.

nirodhaavidya, (edited )
@nirodhaavidya@lemmy.world avatar

“You are under no obligation to be the same person you were 5 minutes ago” - Alan Watts

This one is a bit hard-won for me. You see I used to be an asshole. It was my brand. I thought “it’s just in my nature”.

Fortunately, I was also a student of religion (mostly because I was a militant atheist. Know your enemy and all that). Studying Buddhism, I began to observe the nature of self. I found enough distance from it to see its transient nature.

I realized being an asshole was a choice and I could just as easily choose otherwise. Soon I began to discover this was true of most character traits.

I’m not saying you don’t have consistent patterns of behavior. I’ll hopefully always be curious and analytical. But for the most part, the way you conduct yourself and where you focus your attention is a choice.

So, if you’re not happy with who you are maybe don’t be so attached to the idea of 'who you are". And if that seems hard, observe what you pay your attention to and try to find the distance between observation and behavior. In that gap lies the choice you make, consciously or not, to be “you”.

pedro,

Is your name Earl?

trash,
@trash@lemm.ee avatar

A Carson Daly fan, if you will.

erogenouswarzone,
@erogenouswarzone@lemmy.ml avatar

No offense, brother, but this is a great example of my swear-by.

Don’t write a “wall of text.” Even if a reader is interested, it’s hard to read the whole thing.

Separate your wall into smaller sections, use bullet points (esp at work) if it helps.

Use small sentences. Forget what they told you about keeping similar ideas in one paragraph. You’re not Salinger, and no one is expecting you to be.

This is a digital age, and our job as not-salinger is to convey information.

nirodhaavidya,
@nirodhaavidya@lemmy.world avatar
  • No offense taken
  • These are salient points
  • I edited my post
  • I hope it’s easier to digest now
  • Thank you for the constructive criticism
Enigma,

When it comes to food: Try everything once. You never know if you like it if you never try it.

I’m not talking get a whole plate of the food, but just try a small bite.

scrubbles,
@scrubbles@poptalk.scrubbles.tech avatar

Great advice, pre judging something is only hurting you. I don’t get people who refuse to try, what really are you gaining? What is a few seconds to try something new vs a lifetime of missing out on your new favorite food? If you don’t like it then drink a bit to wash the flavor out and move on!

My mother is especially bad at this. If it’s not in a Midwest form she won’t eat it. We went to an amazing dim sum place with her, we ordered dumplings, buns, vegetables, cuts of meat, everything. She ordered specifically chicken and noodle soup and only ate that, refusing to try anything else. I really pity her for not being able to even try anything.

supper_time,

Missing the real amazingness that is dim sum!

charlytune,
@charlytune@mander.xyz avatar

I had an ex who wouldn’t try anything, it was infuriating. I asked him once whether he liked a vegetable, he said no, I asked how it had been cooked when he had it as maybe he’d like it if it was done a different way, and he said he’d never tried it. The only vegetable he’d eat was broccoli. He got upset when I said he had the eating habits of a toddler but I stand by that.

supper_time,

Well, you were right!

Duplodicus,

At least his one veg is a cruciferous veg as opposed to something like a potato which some think counts as one.

charlytune,
@charlytune@mander.xyz avatar

Oh we did have that argument. Also cereal. I’m amazed I lasted a year with him.

Duplodicus,

Cereal as a vegetable?

charlytune,
@charlytune@mander.xyz avatar

Yup!

God he really was a knobhead.

TurtleTourParty,

I would add to this: if there’s a food you don’t like after trying it, still try it again if you end up somewhere famous for it.

1hitsong,
@1hitsong@lemmy.ml avatar
  1. Don’t mess with people
  2. Don’t mess with people’s stuff
  3. Don’t poke the bear
OceanSoap,

Sugaring.

I’ll never understand why people continue to wax when sugar is an option. Wax is heated up to an extreme degree, which is why people can get burned. It sticks to your skin and rips off the top layer, which is why infections are common amd why its so goddamn painful. Wax requires multiple single-use paper strips, which is waistful.

Sugar never gets that hot so you’ll never get burned. It only sticks to your hair, not your skin, so infection risk is much lower and it’s not nearly as painful. No paper strips required, and only one glob of sugar is used.

Overall, all around, sugaring is far superior to waxing.

spacedancer,

Is sugaring ok/safe down there?

OceanSoap,

Heck yeah, I get it done every 5 weeks down there.

amrawr,

Yes, I get it done regularly

Mr_Blott,

Sweet

IdleSheep,
@IdleSheep@lemmy.blahaj.zone avatar

I just learned about this. Does this work well for men? The material I see online is all focused on women.

I struggle a lot with body hair and mostly rely on hair removal creams because everything else has too many annoying drawbacks. Would he nice to have a more long-lasting option that doesn’t hurt my skin (and until I save enough to get laser removal)

OceanSoap,

Yes! If there’s an option to do so in your area, definitely give it a try! I don’t think you’ll ever go back to using those creams.

catshit_dogfart,

I paint gaming miniatures, and the only varnish I will use is Testors brand. One pass with high gloss because it’s more protective, one pass with “dullcote” because it gives it a matte and neutral finish.

Every other product I’ve tried has turned out cloudy, frosted, not the finish I want, or even cracked. So at some point I stopped attempting to find an alternative and just only use Testors.

See, they only sell it at one craft store in my area and it’s in a locked case so you have to get an employee and there’s only like two in the whole store. And it’s expensive. So I don’t like that hassle, wanted to find something easier to get, but nothing was ever even acceptable. So, it’s Testors Dullcote only.

Dekudibusei,

My motto: if you do what you did, you get what you got.

It mostly serves to remind me (and my public, voluntarily or otherwise) that if you are unhappy with something and want it to change for the better, you’ll have to change parameters (i.e. your approach) or you will just get the same result.

Lith,

Tyler’s Glamorous Wash. I used to buy the cheapest detergent I could find, and laundry was just a means to an end. Now I look forward to laundry because it freshens up my whole home for a week.

Corkyskog,

Are you Tyler? 🧐

arcrust,

Don’t buy cheap daily use items.

Shoes Mattress Car TV Computer

That doesn’t mean buy the most expensive thing. if you rely on this thing to get you through the day, get yourself something of quality. Do your research. Often times, buying the more expensive thing now, can be cheaper in the long run.

Secondly: Use mental health professionals. Go to a therapist, psychologist, or anyone else trained to help people mentally. For years I advocated for my employees to seek help. I built work schedules around their appointments. I could tell that it help or productivity as a team. I did this for years. Finally, this year, I went to see a therapist myself. I’ve been having depression problems for a while but I never took my own advice. Now, just 4 months later I’m doing way better. Not perfect, but I can tell I’ve made very good progress.

collegefurtrader,

I disagree about the TV. Unless you are flush with cash a $300 LCD TV is perfectly good in 2023, you won’t lose any life satisfaction from not having the new $3000 OLED TV.

BorgDrone,

If you can live with an LCD TV then more power to you. Personally, they bother me to no end. Considering how much I use my TV I don’t want to deal with hours of annoyance over the terrible picture quality every day.

Reverendender,

I disagree with your disagreement. There is an EXTREMELY noticeable difference between a quality OLED and a $300 LED, and it brings me much joy.

mangotop,

Most of the time there’s a cap after which there are diminishing returns. A $700 phone will probably last you a good 3-4 years, compared to a shitty year or two with a $300 one. However, a $1500 phone isn’t gonna be that much better and won’t last that much longer to be worth it.

Hexarei,
@Hexarei@programming.dev avatar

Counterpoint: Folding a $700 phone in half breaks it, while doing that to a $1800 Galaxy Z Fold 4 is expected use 😄

Still,
@Still@programming.dev avatar

the ole “buy it right, or buy it to the end of time” mantra rings true for so many things

Adulated_Aspersion,

Buy once, cry once.

scrubbles,
@scrubbles@poptalk.scrubbles.tech avatar

I sold computers for a major big box retailer for a while, and always tried to sell honestly. So many many stupid people.

“I know you are eyeing that 250 dollar Toshiba, but I really recommend this one for 50 dollars more that has a much better processor and ram”

“Stop trying to upsell us, we’re taking this one”

Bud I wasn’t trying to upsell you. I’m saying the Toshiba is hot garbage and you’ll be back in a week complaining its slow. I know you don’t want to spend too much, which is why I memorized each computer we have, and I’m telling you take this i5 over that Celeron.

Corkyskog,

To be fair, for so long those positions were commissioned cut throat positions that consumers just instinctively assume they are being scammed when a sales person approaches them.

I am surprised they didn’t also reply, I suppose you want me to buy that additional 2 year warranty too? (Which would have been funny if you retorted “you will need one for that Toshiba!”)

scrubbles,
@scrubbles@poptalk.scrubbles.tech avatar

Yup, exactly right, which is why I tried to be very honest with people. I wasn’t commissioned, I really just wanted them to get the best product for their use, but most took that as me trying to scam them.

And funny about the warranty lol, because yup we had to hock that too, but I chose which people I pitched what to. “Aw no you aint giving me no accident protecting warranty”. “Lady you just told me how your demonspawn kid ruined your last laptop, maybe it’s not such a bad idea to get one of these warranties”.

but dude comes in who obviously knows computers? Nah I don’t need to pitch a warranty to him

gaydarless,

Mantra:

  • A former coach used to say to us, “If you cut corners in practice, you’ll cut corners in games. If you cut corners in games, you’ll cut corners in life.” It’s a good reminder to do things right whenever and wherever you can. Every action you take is training your brain!

Product-wise:

  • I swear by Dorset Cereals’ muesli lmao. It is such a small thing but I absolutely love all the flavours and recommend them to everyone I know. If I were a different sort of person, I’d be approaching them for a brand deal, what with all the word-of-mouth advertising I do for them 😂
  • I also swear by my Blundstones. They’re great for walking, they always keep my feet dry in my very moist city, and they have lasted me really well so far.
gravitas_deficiency,

The power of greyskull

ChickenWings,

Throw away something I haven’t touched in the past 2 years. It’s helped me declutter my home.

trimmerfrost,

I have got a laundry list of quotes made by me. Let me put up some:

  • You have to dream even before you start doing something
  • Overbearing parenting is child abuse
  • Do you want a lovely, smart, well-achieved, conversationally witty wife or not? If yes, first of all, go work on yourself
  • The world’s not a fair place. So what are you going to do about it?
  • Everything is learnable
HobbitFoot,

If someone can’t explain how something works, they either don’t know how it works out don’t want you to know how it works.

Things can be complicated and have nuance, but there should be a general basic theory.

emptyother,
@emptyother@lemmy.world avatar

I tend to explain stuff to myself to figure out if I think I got it. Sometimes I try explaining stuff on reddit and hope anyone corrects me if I’m wrong. Works great imho.

theshatterstone54,

The thing is, sometimes you just can’t find the right words to explain it in a simple way. It happens to me all the time.

HobbitFoot,

I usually forgive not knowing the right vocabulary as long as it is close enough.

CloverSi,

Finding vocabulary at all can be a challenge in and of itself. If I get too lost for words I sometimes can’t find any - it’s not that I don’t know how things work, I don’t know how to say it.

Truaxe,

Comparison is the thief of happiness.

I’ve found that by just focusing on what I have/can do and being content, I am generally very happy.

thesingingcrow,

I agree completely. The original quote is, “Comparison is the thief of joy." ~ Theodore Roosevelt

ArbitraryMary,
@ArbitraryMary@lemmy.world avatar

Zoflora cleaning products. All the ones like Fabulosa etc are just poor imitations. Zoflora have the best scents and cleaning power.

That, and a scrub daddy with the power paste. I can clean anything with those products.

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