These seven pieces of good advice and life advice quotes will help you to stay calm, gain perspective, increase positivity and overcome negative thoughts. They continue to help me every day.
Throughout my 43 years of life, I have received so many valuable pieces of good advice from friends and experts. In addition to all of this, I picked up many mindset-changing statements as part of my coaching and NLP training.
I would like to share with you my favourite pieces of life advice to help you navigate life and all the circumstances you experience.
From everything I have heard or tried, these seven inspiring quotes, statements, adages and phrases are the best life advice:
Best life advice no. 1 - "This too shall pass"
A wise friend shared piece of life advice with me eight years ago and it has been an absolute lifesaver. It is a Persian adage which is believed to have originated in the writings of Sufi poets.
Nothing is fixed; everything changes. Circumstances change, feelings and emotions change, thoughts change, you change.
Whether you are exhausted by the pandemic, upset about a disagreement, missing the ability to travel or looking for work, know that 'this too shall pass' and things will be different; soon or eventually.
It can be good advice for a friend if they are struggling with a current circumstance or situation.
Best life advice no. 2 - "You are not your mind"
Eckhart Tolle spoke this gift. It is a reminder that you are not your thoughts and therefore should not identify with them.
You have two selves; a conscious self that is the true you, noticeable when you are in the present moment and not lost in a deluge of thoughts. Plus your unconscious or egoic self, which powerfully pulls your attention to unhelpful thought loops.
Repeat this phrase to yourself to disengage with incessant negative or unhelpful thought patterns and bring yourself back to the present moment and a calm state.
Best life advice no. 3 - "The brain believes what you tell it the most"
I cannot actually remember where I first heard this piece of good advice but it has had a hugely positive impact on my thinking.
If you keep telling yourself 'I can't do X' or 'I am a pessimist' or 'I will always be this way', your brain will believe it. This is also true if you keep saying these kind of statements out loud when you are in conversation with people.
However, if you keep saying positive things, your brain will begin to believe them. This is why saying positive affirmations and setting intentions works.
Best life advice no. 4 - "Make inspiration your goal"
This phrase is excellent if you feel lost or lacking direction.
Many of my clients know they want to make a life change and are clear on what they no longer want in their life, for example they don't want to work for someone else and really want to set up their own business.
Where they get stuck is knowing WHAT to do for a business; how they can earn money and stay interested.
When you focus on seeking and feeling inspired, many ideas and opportunities will naturally come to you. Credit to Gabrielle Bernstein for this piece of positive life advice.
Best life advice no. 5 - "Tidy space, tidy mind"
A study showed that clutter increases procrastination and life dissatisfaction and can also affect your overall wellbeing.
By de-cluttering, you can feel more in control. You will have less stuff to take care of plus you will save time trying to find something, ultimately giving you more time to spend on what is important to you.
I love this real life advice as a tidy space truly helps me feel able to feel creative and focused.
Best life advice no. 6 -"Is this serving me?"
If you find yourself:
a) thinking, behaving or doing something that makes you feel a negative emotion eg. unhappy, uneasy, uncomfortable, sad or miserable OR
b) repeating a pattern, habit, process or statement on autopilot OR
c) questioning whether to continue in a certain direction
... ask yourself 'is this serving me?'
If the answer is no, you can then decide how you can do it differently or not at all.
If the answer is yes, ask yourself 'in what way is this serving me?' and make sure the response is aligned with what is important to you (your values). If it is not aligned, is it still serving you?
Best life advice no. 7 - "There is no such thing as failure, only feedback"
The words fail and failure can bring a barrage of negative thoughts. And a preemptive fear of failure holds us back and stops us getting something we really want.
This phrase is one of the NLP Beliefs of Excellence and is a superb reminder that you can never fail.
The essence of this phrase is that when you think you have failed at something, for example, successfully homeschooling or starting a side hustle, you have not failed; you have just received feedback on how to do it next time.
The experience has shown you what worked and what didn't work. It has shown you what changes to make or how to do things differently next time or going forward.
You will feel a big shift when you remove the words fail and failure from your vocabulary.
I am a certified Life Coach and Neuro-Linguistic Programming or NLP Practitioner. Working with a life coach and using NLP therapy will build your confidence, increase your motivation and help you get what you want in life. Book a free 30-minute Discovery Call with me to learn more good life advice and to discuss how my life coaching and NLP techniques can help you. I am an online life coach.
