Bullsh*t advices that people give every time

Be positive

Life can be incredibly challenging, and it is perfectly normal to feel overwhelmed at times. The goal isn’t to avoid negative emotions, but to become skilled at processing them. Learn how to truly experience sadness, happiness, anger, and grief. Embrace these feelings rather than suppressing them, and you will build genuine emotional resilience.

Reference

• Book: Emotional Agility: Get Unstuck, Embrace Change, and Thrive in Work and Life by Susan David.
• Concept: Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), which emphasizes feeling emotions without letting them dictate your actions.

Manifest it

When you focus on something or practice “manifesting,” you naturally start noticing related things in your surroundings. It is not that these opportunities weren’t there before; your brain is simply highlighting them now. This psychological focus is a wonderful and useful tool! The issue arises when people rely on pseudo-cosmological explanations—the idea that the universe is magically handing you opportunities—rather than acknowledging their own brain’s incredible pattern-recognition abilities.

Reference

• Concept: The Baader-Meinhof Phenomenon (Frequency Illusion) and the Reticular Activating System (RAS) in neuroscience.

Money can’t buy happiness.

The old saying “money cannot buy happiness” isn’t entirely accurate. A better way to frame it is: “Money can buy away unhappiness.” The less money you have, the more a financial boost will improve your well-being by removing foundational stressors (housing, food, healthcare). However, once you reach a comfortable baseline where your basic needs are met, additional wealth provides diminishing returns on your overall, day-to-day happiness.

And as my friend describes it in one line as “Wealth doesn’t manufacture bliss; it just silences the anxiety.”

Reference

• Study: High income improves evaluation of life but not emotional well-being (2010) by Nobel laureates Daniel Kahneman and Angus Deaton.

Never give up

While persistence is valuable, it is equally important to learn when to give up. We have countless opportunities in life, and for most people, it is futile to keep pouring energy into something that consistently yields no results. Quitting strategically is a vital life skill. If you are putting in the effort, you should eventually see some kind of return; if not, pivoting to a path better suited for you is a highly positive and proactive step forward.

Reference

• Book: The Dip: A Little Book That Teaches You When to Quit (and When to Stick) by Seth Godin.
• Concept: Overcoming the Sunk Cost Fallacy in behavioral economics.

Follow your passion

Passion is rarely the cause of excellence; it is actually the effect of becoming exceptionally good at something. Instead of blindly following a pre-existing passion, follow your potential. Build rare, valuable skills, and as you gain mastery and autonomy, genuine passion for your work will naturally follow. Studies show most of the gaming addicts can’t leave gaming not because they love the game but because they are at a point where they are too good in it and now they try to chase that feeling every time.

Reference

• Book: So Good They Can’t Ignore You: Why Skills Trump Passion in the Quest for Work You Love by Cal Newport.

Love conquers all

Love alone does not fix a bad relationship, nor does it resolve deep-seated trust issues. Love doesn’t magically turn someone into a healthy partner if they lack the necessary interpersonal skills. Love is not enough on its own; it acts as an amplifier for whatever dynamics—good or bad—are already present. True connection requires effort, compatibility, trust, and mutual respect alongside love.

Reference

• Book: The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck (Specifically the chapter titled “Love is Not Enough”) by Mark Manson.

Everything for a reason

The phrase “everything happens for a reason” can sometimes act as an unhealthy coping mechanism for those who want an easy way out of dealing with reality. The universe doesn’t necessarily have a pre-written plan for every setback. Instead, it is a highly empowering realization that it is your job to learn from the painful moments in your life and forge your own meaning, rather than waiting for the universe to send a signal.

Reference

• Book: Man’s Search for Meaning by Viktor E. Frankl (Logotherapy, which focuses on finding personal meaning in all forms of existence, including suffering).

Cut toxic people out of your life

Many people are quick to label others as “toxic” and cut them off, sometimes failing to realize their own role in the conflict. It is genuinely difficult to gauge the difference between healthy friction and actual toxicity. We should maintain a high threshold for completely banishing people from our lives, especially family members. Part of being a mature adult is learning how to get along with difficult people. If you cut people off at the slightest inconvenience, you risk isolating yourself.

Reference

• Book: Nonviolent Communication: A Language of Life by Marshall B. Rosenberg (A guide to healthy conflict resolution and developing empathy).

You need to find closure.

The neat, perfect idea of “closure”—where you completely understand why you were hurt and wrap it up with a nice mental bow—is mostly a myth. Life is messy, and going back to exes or digging up old traumas in search of this elusive closure often causes more pain. True closure is internal; it happens naturally after you have moved on and found more meaningful pursuits. Once you have healed, you might look back and understand why things happened, but you won’t feel the need to reopen those old doors.

Reference

• Book: Maybe You Should Talk to Someone by Lori Gottlieb (Explores the psychological reality of healing and moving forward without receiving perfect external closure).