1. Good SLEEP, DIET and EXERCISE are crucial for a good quality of life
A lot of people don’t realize how much their habits regarding sleep, exercise and nutrition influence their quality of life. These things are the physiological basics of your life. Bad habits in either one of these fields will worsen your quality of life dramatically either instantly or in the future. The scientific evidence for this is overwhelming.
Sadly, there are still a lot of people that don’t realise that they feel bad because of bad habits in one of these domains and they start wondering what illness they might have or they simply think life is supposed to be like that.
These things are for not just important for your physical health but also your mental health.
2. Chewing gum is more effective at keeping you awake than coffee
Chewing gum generates a significant amount of heat in your jaw muscles so that Arterioles going to the brain dilate and allow for 30% more blood flow to the brain. Where as Caffeine passes the blood-brain barrier (being both water and fat soluble) and competitively blocks Adenosine (chemical which gives you the tired feeling)
I know several guys who’ve gone through Ranger school (lots of stress & sleep deprivation, while being expected to be active and alert). One thing they all would emphasize to new guys trying was to pack as much chewing gum as allowed, and for family to send more gum in letters they sent during training. Kind of makes sense now .
3. If somebody is rude to you, ask them to repeat themselves.
“sorry?” “excuse me what was that?” “can you please repeat what you said?” in a calm confused tone
They are most likely to either rephrase what they said or say it in a nicer way.
Most people feel the guilt kick in once they get another chance of repeating what they said before, they get this little feeling of either ‘what is wrong in what I said?’ or give them a slight realization of ‘wait.. There seems to be consequences’ .
This also makes the people around look down on the person that was offensive shifting the focus at them once again l.
4. Beware of the phone kidnapping scam
My parents received a call on Saturday morning from an alleged kidnapper who claimed he had kidnapped my sister. The call started out with a girl’s voice crying for help, and my parents were understandably terrified. Luckily, I was home and told them that this is a common scam.
They didn’t believe me until I called my sister and they spoke with her, all the while trying to placate the man on the phone who was threatening them just in case I was wrong. My parents are pretty traumatized and were literally on their way to the bank to withdraw all the money they could to try and save my sister.
We talked to the police and FBI, and apparently this scam is really active right now in the area. The police recommended to tell our friends to keep calm if you get a call like this. Ask to speak with your child/loved one or ask the “kidnapper” to provide specific details about them to verify their identity. Simultaneously, reach out to your loved one via text, their friends, or social media to confirm their safety.
5. A lot of car issues are extremely simple to fix yourself
Windscreen wipers are the big one. Ive seen some shops charging an arm and a leg. Air filters are another one. The mark up shops put on air filters is CRAZY. And filters for most makes and models are super cheap and take less than 5 minutes to swap.
If you have access to simple tools like screwdrivers and a ratchet set you can turn that $550 repair to a $40 repair. A shop quoted me $550 to fix my automatic window, ended up ordering a part on Amazon and watching a Youtube video. Probably took 45 minutes.
6. Always take pictures of your rental vehicle during pickup and drop off
Take multiple pictures from all sides for proof that you returned it in exact condition you rented and keep them at least for a few weeks. Make sure the windshield is chipfree before renting it. Some unscrupulous companies tend to charge customers for preexisting scratches and dings.
7. You don’t have to answer your front door when you’re home.
If a door to door sales person or someone you don’t know is at your door, you don’t have to acknowledge their presence, even if it’s clearly apparent that you are home. If it’s important then they will shout what they are their for, like if it’s a neighbor you haven’t met yet and your roof is on fire. It’s your home and there is no obligation that you have to answer the door for everyone that comes knocking.
8. How to cook with garlic. The tinier you mince garlic, the stronger the flavor. Slices will be less strong while a paste will be strongest. The more you cook it the more flavor will be lost.
The way you chop and cook garlic affects the strength of the flavor in your dish. If you mince garlic you will release much more flavor compared to slices. A paste will be even stronger (you get a paste by mincing first and then smearing it on the cutting board using a knife repeatedly)
Also, cooking sautéing/frying garlic less will retain more of its flavor. If your garlic is being sautéed until brown, you won’t taste it as much. If you want a strong flavor make sure you add it late and keep it white.
Slow-cooking or roasting whole garlic heads is much different and that method of cooking garlic is not really what I’m talking about here.
9. If you are at the beach and are being pulled by a current into deeper water, swim parallel to the beach to the right or left, toward the white caps of the breaking waves to free yourself from the riptide.
If you are caught by a rip current you could exhaust yourself fighting the current and trying to swim directly back to shore. Instead, swim parallel to the beach until you are released by the current.
If you see an area of calm between waves, do not enter the water at this spot as the space without white caps indicates a dangerous riptide and you may not be able to escape being pulled into deeper water.
If you are caught by a rip current and can’t swim to the side stay afloat and signal for help. Let the rip take you out the back until it stops. Then you’ll be able to swim back to the beach an alternative way.
How to identify, avoid and survive rip currents
10. When sharing your opinion on subjective topics, music, movies, food, etc. There is no need to be hostile. The music doesn’t suck, you just don’t like it. The pizza topping isn’t horrible, you just don’t like it. People’s opinions of you won’t decline if you’re just sharing your likes/dislikes
Discovering this seemingly silly tip a couple years ago has been so helpful for me in becoming a more likeable person. I always wondered why no one asked for my opinion on things and it wasn’t until I was told this exact thing that it hit me. Now a couple years later, I see I got the habit from my Dad. Every thought and opinion he has on something makes it sound like it’s the worst thing in the world, and admittedly why our family never asks him for his opinion.
11. When you don’t have all the facts, try to give people the most generous reason you can for their behaviour.
Also called the “Most Respectful Interpretation” rule. What’s the most kind reason we can come up with for why said person is being such a dumbass?
Annoyingly slow driver? Maybe it’s a mom with a birthday cake in the back. This mindset will gradually make you less reactive, more compassionate and more forgiving of your own bad days.
As an additional benefit, coming up with these explanations is usually a nice distraction from whatever was annoying.
12. Apologizing to your children and admitting when you’re wrong is what teaches them to have Integrity
There are a lot of parents with this philosophy of “What I say goes, I’m the boss , everyone bow down to me, I can do no wrong”.
This approach is detrimental to raising children who take accountability for their own actions. They need to see you admit to your faults, and you do owe them an apology when you mess up, even if you happen to think that “seems stupid because they’re just a kid”.
Children learn by example, and they pick up on so many nuances, minutiae, and unspoken truths.
You aren’t fooling them into thinking you’re perfect by refusing to admit mistakes – you’re teaching them that to apologize is shameful and should be avoided at all costs. You cannot treat a child one way and then expect them to comport themselves in the opposite manner.
13. Know exactly where the main shut-off valve is for the entire house in case you develop a bad leak (or pipe rupture) and can’t find an intermediate shut-off valve to stop it.
Also test the shut off is working properly. Worked on many houses where the water didn’t turn off. Sometimes even the shut off at the street didn’t work. City had to come out and change the vavle. Luckily it wasn’t an emergency situation
14. Every gun is always loaded at all times and can discharge for no reason at all
This should always be your mindset. Mindfully, never point a firearm at anything you do not intent to kill. Never put your finger in the trigger guard unless you are ready to shoot. A firearm should only ever be considered “not loaded” once it has been dissembled. Do not tolerate bad firearm etiquette from those around you. There are no gun accidents, only stupid people.