84 Things To Live By
1. Forgive your parents
2. Pay off debt
3. Lose your image
4. Think critically
5. Find the silver lining
6. Make friends with children, old people and animals
7. Don’t watch the news
8. Explore outside your comfort zone
9. Try new foods
10. Invest your money
11. Get rid of clutter
12. Read the ingredients list
13. Don’t believe information you’re given when someone or something is trying to sell you something
14. Don’t grocery shop hungry
15. Lose toxic friends
16. Do yoga
17. Never stop learning
18. Get a hobby
19. Don’t buy publications that have celebrity headlines
20. Thank your parents
21. Buy used
22. Don’t buy into the housing hype
23. Learn to differentiate between needs & wants
24. Ignore socialization
25. Time does not equal dedication
26. Things are not love
27. Stop trying to change your lover
28. Learn from your AND others mistakes
29. Listen more
30. Exercise
31. Find a life outside of your children
32. Stay out of direct sunlight
33. Buy your size, not the one you want to be
34. Identify government propaganda or research it yourself
35. Get a library card
36. Don’t waste food
37. Be honest
38. Don’t let anyone intimidate you; everybody has something on either side of the bell curve
39. Let children struggle so they can grow their own wings
40. Forgive yourself; you only did what you knew to do, when you could decide to do it.
41. Grow a backbone
42. FLOSS
43. Don’t ever try a cigarette
44. Learn how to make yourself orgasm first
45. If you are repeatedly treated poorly by someone, it’s because you allow it to continue
46. Confidence is sexiest
47. A great haircut is worth it
48. Say NO when you get the urge
49. Read this
50. And this and this and this and this
51. Be grateful
52. When you marry someone you marry his or her family.
53. A marketer working for DeBeers created the American tradition of the engagement ring.
54. Your job probably thinks your expendable; be selective with your loyalty
55. When your kids constantly whine and misbehave, it’s not because of the school system…
56. If you are offended by something someone says about you, it’s probably true
57. Give without expectation
58. Everyone likes a birthday cake, no matter how much they deny it
59. Don’t yell
60. Get over yourself
61. No one really knows what they’re doing in life
62. Communicate
63. Diversify: your friends, money and interests
64. Talk about ideas, not people
65. Don’t fall into marketable New Age hype
66. There are 400 billion stars in our galaxy, so yes, the world does not revolve around you
67. Smile (apparently, it’s the 2nd best thing you can do with your mouth)
68. Compliment more
69. Know your weaknesses, find other people to complement them
70. Mentor, mentor, mentor
71. No matter how much you know, you’re still probably ignorant
72. America needs a lot of work right now
73. Race does not define you
74. Your purpose is to be; enjoy it
75. Normal doesn’t exist; it’s all socialization put in your head
76. Live beneath your means
77. Avoid car loans
78. Clip coupons
79. Stay on the border of the grocery store
80. Tip 20% or more
81. Your beliefs are yours alone, unless some random stranger asked for a lecture, keep it that way
82. Take responsibility for your choices
83. Just do it. Anything, everything, all of it – whatever you want. Just do it.
84. It’s always easier then you thought.
What are some things that should be added to the list? What do you live by?
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Nice.
March 6th, 2008 at 3:13 amMy add: Dreaming!
I’d add “remember that nothing is ever as bad as you think it will be”
March 6th, 2008 at 4:40 amThat’s lovely. I would add:
85. Read books
March 6th, 2008 at 9:10 am86. Learn everything there is to know about something
87. Surround yourself with beauty
88. Keep track of what you’ve promised others. Make sure you deliver.
#69 the word ‘compliment’ should probably be ‘complement’
March 6th, 2008 at 10:16 amInspiring ++. Thanks!
I tell myself another one:
“Fear of failure is Evolution’s bottleneck”
There’s big truth in this one by Hugh MacLeod of http://www.gapingvoid.com :
March 6th, 2008 at 10:51 am“Never compare your inside against someone else’s outside”
Scabr: YES! Never stop!
Clive: It’s true, it’s always harder in your head
Brent: 86 & 88 – love it.
Mic: I had to Google it, thinking I was spelling something wrong
. But once realizing what you meant, I couldn’t help but smile.
Joaquin: I adore Hugh. I am glad I inspired you. It’s the purpose of this blog. To make people think and be inspired.
Love the comments – keep the ideas coming and I’ll continue the list with them!
March 6th, 2008 at 11:37 amSO the rest of you finding your way here – what do you think?
Come on people – share and tell me what you live by – inspire me!!
March 6th, 2008 at 11:39 amThank the people who do things that help you or make your life better.
(So, Nicole: Thank you)
Oh, and if you want to add a cute one: if you find yourself going through hell…keep going.
March 6th, 2008 at 12:16 pmWe all instinctively know most of these 84 things to live by – so the one thing to live by would be simply to make the right choice instead of the easy choice, and stop making lists of things to live by.
“All the good things that I want to do, I do not.
March 6th, 2008 at 3:27 pmAll the evil things that I don’t want to do, I do”
Angryton -
It’s not that easy for everyone, so sometimes a list helps the remembering.
But hey, doesn’t your sign off contradict your comment?
March 6th, 2008 at 4:34 pmNicole -
Well, maybe you’re right… maybe a list can serve as some kind of motivation…
Personally I don’t really think so, but maybe…
And I don’t think my sign off comment contradicts my point – we know what we should be doing, but for various reasons we are not always doing it…
March 6th, 2008 at 5:16 pmAngryton -
It probably is true that this won’t create some life altering adjustments in most people, but for the few it might, that’s enough for me.
(Save me from myself, I’m an Idealist.)
March 6th, 2008 at 5:24 pmha ha – very good… and good to hear. The world needs idealists. I am also sometimes an idealist myself
And I think I agree – if it helps a few, then its worth something. But it can only help if people already have most of these realizations.. then it can maybe help people being more acutely aware of these things “to live by”. It is easy to loose focus.
March 6th, 2008 at 5:33 pmYou have waaaay more on this list than we can come up with. I read them all and pretty much can’t get past the first 3 !
March 6th, 2008 at 6:26 pmBTW- Yes, those frites are seriously made of tofu and we just made a video on it. WE mentioned you too! Sorry! Hope you don’t hate us!
Do what you love. The money will follow.
March 6th, 2008 at 10:17 pmWell I love to write, I hope a livable wage follows me there.
March 7th, 2008 at 11:23 amHere is one more:
Just because he/she completes you, doesn’t mean you are incomplete.
March 7th, 2008 at 1:42 pmI would add: Be of Service to Others.
March 7th, 2008 at 4:40 pmHelping others is one of the most rewarding things we can do on earth. Even a simple thing like holding a door open, or letting a car pull into traffic ahead of you can change someone’s day for the better. You’ll feel pretty cool about it too.
A variation on David’s: Even when the money doesn’t follow, do what you love anyway.
A few other things:
Do things that make you feel foolish (your yoga one made me think of that; I’m so bad at yoga it’s really embarassing. I often fall over. No one else does. But it’s still worth it).
Withhold judgement.
Spend time with furry things.
March 7th, 2008 at 7:44 pmHey Cleanerplateclub:
If they don’t ever fall over, how are they pushing themselves, how are they improving? We won’t grow if we never fail.
Maybe you’re just strong enough to go outside your comfort zone!
Besides you can never be BAD at yoga.
Noa Rose: I definitely shouldn’t have forgotten that one…
March 7th, 2008 at 9:19 pmForgive yourself, forgive your parents (as you pointed out above) and also forgive every other person for everything.
March 11th, 2008 at 12:57 pm[...] presents 84 Things To Live By posted at Makeitbetter’s [...]
March 16th, 2008 at 6:00 pmThis is very profound, thanks for sharing.
March 16th, 2008 at 6:51 pm[...] presents 84 Things To Live By posted at Makeitbetter’s [...]
March 17th, 2008 at 2:45 am[...] is a great list posted at Make It Better which has 84 simple suggestions of how to live a better life. Each of these things is a small [...]
March 17th, 2008 at 9:09 am[...] Everyone and his brother seems to be listifying rules for life these days. So here’s my totally random list of wisdom, at least as it bubbles to the top of my mind at the moment: [...]
March 25th, 2008 at 8:11 pm[...] presents 84 Things To Live By posted at Makeitbetter’s [...]
March 30th, 2008 at 8:09 pm[...] 84 Things to Live By [...]
April 15th, 2008 at 4:04 pmI totally misread “when you marry someone, you marry their family” as “… you work for their family!” and I spent a long time trying to figure out what that meant. Heh. Glad I went back and re-read.
I found you through MMND and this post, among others, caught my eye. Nice to make your acquaintance, Nicole, and I’ll definitely be reading in the future.
April 21st, 2008 at 2:33 pmLise,
So happy to meet you.
April 21st, 2008 at 3:16 pmWe forgot to mention one of our cardinal rules…
April 23rd, 2008 at 10:47 amSet time aside regularly for a “moment of discovery”, where you set out to find something you’ve never done or seen before. And..
Let the ones you love, know you love them.
Love your list, Nicole. Todd.
i would probably move thank parents up the list a little bit more.
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September 16th, 2008 at 11:36 pmThumbs down for another list of things to make my life better, but thumbs up for #1 because I know I would probably be better off, but I can t bring myself to do it.
September 18th, 2008 at 4:52 amI don’t understand why Peta’s humane euthanasia, which is a horrifying necessity, has to do do with “ignore socialization.” Makes no sense. And the whole article about Peta was extremely misinformed and out of context.
October 8th, 2008 at 11:25 pm#2 Pay off debt my favorite!!!
http://www.santaletterz.com/
October 11th, 2008 at 8:53 pmNever ever give up!
October 12th, 2008 at 3:35 amMASTURBATE!
Why else would our arms be the perfect length? – Nicole
October 12th, 2008 at 7:38 amgreat list, I’m going to print it out and start ticking off boxes. Before finding this I guess I’ve already implemented a lot of them naturally.
Although I don’t see how Yoga is essential to life.
leimrods last blog post..Gamers – The last acceptable stereotype
October 12th, 2008 at 10:47 amMy add: The crushing waves of lifes problems are not designed to destroy, they are merely stepping stones to greater purpose, so ride on……..
adsenseforums last blog post..Comment by sinnersystems.com
January 2nd, 2009 at 12:45 am# Don’t worry about making mistakes. Make them, learn from them, but don’t let fear of them stop you from trying things. Don’t feel bad when you make them.
January 27th, 2009 at 10:42 pm# Go ahead and smoke a cigarette if you want to. Pay attention to what it does to your body, then decide whether you want to smoke another one.
# Listen to the wisdom of those you respect, but don’t live by anyone else’s rules. Make it up as you go.
[...] 84 Things To Live By 84 Things To Live By [...]
February 23rd, 2009 at 12:11 amI just remind myself to follow that Golden Rule we all learned back in elementary school…
Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.
Let’s just give each other a little respect!
February 25th, 2009 at 3:23 pmits impossible to feel depressed if you smile so make a consious effort to smile!
February 28th, 2009 at 2:50 pmI’d like to add, listen to music.
February 28th, 2009 at 11:22 pmI’m bipolar, currently severely depressed and looking to make myself feel better. This list helped a little, thanks =).
March 6th, 2009 at 6:34 ami would like to add one more to the list, as #1:
get a plastic bag before reading the list and the comments, you might feel the need to throw up rainbows and sunshine.
March 10th, 2009 at 10:02 pmWaldo,
That was mad funny.
March 11th, 2009 at 11:48 ami would add travel to other countries there is a whole world out there
March 29th, 2009 at 4:21 amOut of all those things I reckon I do about 5
Best buck my ideas up. Thanks for the list, a thumbs up on stumble for me definitely.
April 7th, 2009 at 9:51 pm[...] Original Source [...]
April 28th, 2009 at 12:50 pmForgive!
May 4th, 2009 at 6:29 pm[...] mushin published a blog post. Allen Stern: 84 things to live by (via FriendFeed) [...]
July 7th, 2009 at 8:47 amI would add,
Have at least one thing that you are passionate about.
This will always give you something to talk about and when things go wrong, something to turn to.
December 18th, 2009 at 3:39 am