We never want to the heed the warnings until we have no other choice, that is an issue with most of us. Its no fun to have to hear and try to follow advice. We all want to just be in tune and know it all already. So half the time we just ignore it until our lives have imploded. So why not just listen up?!
Redditor u/5000Castillo wanted to hear some pearls of wisdom they may have at first been overlooked by asking.... What felt like a useless piece of advice until you actually tried it?
Tomorrow... Tomorrow!!
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This too shall pass. On those days when I just feel like I can't take it I think of that, and I know tomorrow will be different. Someone once told me, "tomorrow may not be better, but at least it'll be different." In a strange way that too is comforting. rakmode
Gimme 15....
Once begun is half done.
I am a terrible procrastinator by nature. I have totally done the "well now it 5:02 so I have to wait until 6:00 to start cleaning," and I like making things seem like soooo much work that I can't possibly do them unless I take time off of work. In reality if you just start a project without thinking about it you can get everything done in like fifteen minutes a day and it's never really that bad. stabatha_christie
A Cheap Tool.
My grandfather told me this and I never understood it until I had my own place. Always buy the cheap tools at first and if you wear it out/break it then you use it enough to justify getting a nicer more expensive one. the-silliest-goose
Stand up Straight!
Keeping my shoulders back. It was a suggestion I saw for preventing panic/anxiety. Idk what it is, but when your shoulders are in that position it gives some strange feeling of control. I also read somewhere that during panic attacks the body basically wants to curl into fetal position for protection, so I feel like focusing on keeping your arms down and shoulders back is a conscious way to go against that and stay grounded in reality. Works for me, could work for you too. coralclouds
Deep Breathes.
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My therapist told me the next time I'm going to have a panic attack to just give in and tell myself it was ok to have one. I told him he was crazy. After a couple tries it started working to my amazement. I haven't had a panic attack in 3 years. Donkey0394
Tree People.
That Forest app. It grows a tree for up to 2 hours and during that time, you can't access any apps you think will distract you. If you wanna open a distracting app, you'd have to kill your tree. All your trees, dead or alive, appear in a little forest. I have always had trouble motivating myself to focus on homework and not look at Reddit/YouTube, but this app is just enough guilt to not open them. I haven't killed anything yet and I'm surprised at how much I can care about a small virtual tree. People told me about it and I just completely assumed that I'd never use it or it wouldn't work for me considering how distractible I am, but it works wonders. maxthechuck
Just Ask.
My dad always told me 'Ask anyway, the worst they can say is no' when buying something or when I needed something from another person. Seemed stupid to ask if I was sure they would say no but I was also a socially anxious kid. Turns out that advice has helped me with school, with raises, with people in general, with plans with new friends. astrocanyounaut
Count the Coins.
"There's what you need, there's what you want, and there's what you can't afford."
My Dad says this all the time, and I never though of it as useless--I just never used it. Now I have, and my money is far easier to manage. Ekscalliber
Brush Away....
"Your gums bleed when you floss because you don't floss enough."
Turns out if you floss enough, your gums won't be inflamed so they don't bleed when you floss. smityhasnwrth43
It's true. Or at least get an electric toothbrush.
Source: I am dental hygienist. smityhasnwrth43
Keep Swinging!
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If you can tell that someone is going to hit you, tilt your head down. Teeth don't grow back. Your jaw is lights out. If they punch the top of your skull, they will probably break their hand. Always be drunk. Alcoholitron
Gonna Make a Change.
For gamers, play games that have a beneficial afk element (in-game), then whenever you need to do some afk stuff spend the time it takes cleaning your house.
Started playing Black Desert Online on xbox, my house has never been cleaner and I'm doing it so regularly that It's becoming a habit and when I'm all caught up I nap.
It's like a tricked myself into taking care of me and my place with games. Easily the best life change I've made this year. I'm productive in-game, at home, and I'm well rested. 10/10 highly recommend. Zumvault
Lift Off!
Exercising helping with depression and anxiety. It's not a cure all and I needed to be on meds to get to the point where I could do it, but it really does help me. I've been off my meds now for over a year (under doctors supervision don't stop taking your meds unless you run it by your doctor) and when I can't exercise for a few days, I can feel the depression and anxiety coming back. Now instead of going through a million things I did wrong in my head, I run for 3 miles or lift some heavy crap. AlarmingBird
Be in the Present.
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Don't suffer future pain. In other words, worrying about all the stuff that could happen stops you from doing things and worse, turns potential pain into actual worry and mental pain. 0nlyhalfjewish
Spic and Span.
Cleaning your house before leaving for more than 5 days. Nothing is better than coming to a clean house. Saturnwithasunroof
I travel a lot for work and can sometimes be gone for two to three weeks at a time. There is nothing worse than finally coming home and remembering how bad you left the place. I learned this real quick and make a point to clean up before I leave. Jag94
From the Dead.
Fans on my old MacBook died. Saw a YouTube video that said to simply take your fist and bang on the part of the computer that housed the fans.
Thinking it was a troll, I gave it a shot out of pure frustration, and lo and behold, they purred back to life and I never had another issue with them for the rest of the time that I owned that computer. Mckavity
By the Blade.
Spend an extra $5-$10 on wiper blades. pat1122
Rockauto commonly does closeouts on high quality wiper blades for like $2-3 a piece. The type you normally pay $20-30 for. I buy like 5 sets at a time to save on shipping, spend less than $40 on enough really nice wipers to last me a couple/few years. nobutternoparm
Body Language.
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Unclench your jaw, open your hands, drop your shoulders, and breathe in. Tehsyr
Beware the Prick.
As someone with a phobia of needles my entire life, I finally (30 years in) had a nurse tell me to ask for a spare alcohol pad and sniff it right as I'm about to get jabbed. She said the harsh smell is enough of a distraction to keep your mind off the needle. I was there for a flu shot, so I got to try it out right away; I wasn't expecting much, but it worked! Ive been doing it ever since, and have no trouble with shots or blood draws now, which is huge for someone they've triggered panic attacks and near fainting in, before. Sylfaein
Incentive.
Bribe yourself with fun things to do the not so fun things.
Today I was tired after work but got a little care package in the mail, so I made myself go on the 2.5 mile run I didn't want to do before I could open the package. Now I'm refreshed and happy that I did the thing I was pseudo dreading, and I have a fun care package to open. millre01
One Day More.
One day at a time. It's been helping me stay focus in the NOW. guyhabit
My grandma, rest her soul, gave me a similar piece of advice, but with a variant. If you feel like you can't survive a week, focus on getting through one day. One day too much? One hour. Too much? One minute. Whatever it takes, if you can survive one, you can survive another. ProvidedCone
War Face GIF
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Apparently, their sense of humor has no bounds. Curious to hear from drill sergeants online, Redditor darkstalker1000 asked:
"Drill instructors, what is the funniest thing you have seen a Private do?"
The following examples were utterly humiliating, but valuable lessons were learned.
Longheld Punishment
"Had 2 guys get in a fight in our bay during basic. The drill sergeant made them hold hands and pretending to be on a date all week. Only time they could let go of each other's hands was rack time. They ended up becoming pretty good friends."
Confusing Paycheck
"Ex British Army officer here."
"A corporal went on a nine week mortar course and was accommodated (obviously) while he was away. It turned out he knew one of the DS teaching the course and was invited, regularly, to dine and drink in the Sergeant's Mess."
"The month after coming back from the course, he brought his payslip to me with a puzzled look on his face and, embarrassed, explained he didn't understand what it meant and could I help him?"
"It emerged that the Sergeant's Mess had a chitty system - you didn't pay for your drinks at the time, but signed for them and the total bill was deducted from your pay."
"This legend had managed to drink more than his monthly salary both months he'd been away and his payslip was a negative balance."
"I'm sorry Smith, I'm afraid you owe the Army £235 ($327.50) this month."
Asking For An Advance
"Former European Anti-Air Trainee here."
"Recruit spent his first check on alcohol and sex workers, asked his commander for next months check in advance the next day. Instead of having a good excuse prepared to actually succeed in that proposal he blankly told him in front of 80 other recruits why he'd need it."
Eye-Level Reprimand
"I saw a guy post about how he was like 6'3 and his DS was like 5'2, so whenever he messed up the DS would go up to him face to chest and yell 'Elevator!' and the guy would bend down to eye level with the DS and say 'Ding!' and the DS would proceed to look him in the eye while he chewed him out."
Some experiences were downright hilarious.
The Stain
"Not an RDC, but in boot camp I was over the laundry crew. One recruit sh*t himself because he thought he couldn't leave his rack after taps. It was funny at the moment before I realized I had to wash it."
– ScootaFL
Ambush Training
"This was the funniest f'king thing I ever read from u/odomotto"
"Recruit fired all his blank ammo during 'ambush training.' He crawled in ditch opposite where the aggressors were, and started throwing rocks at them. DI came running in middle of the road blowing his whistle and screaming 'what the f'k are you doing?' Recruit screamed back, 'throwing hand grenades drill sergeant!' Without missing a beat, the DI screamed 'out f'king standing.' And walked away."
"My sides hurt and I was wheezing laughing so hard at this when I first heard it!"
These punishments made no sense. And that's why they're memorable.
The Replacement
"When I was in basic, a kid we called 'Albino' shot off a blank round accidentally in the field. The sergeants were pissed and took his weapon away and replaced it with a broomstick for the remainder of the week in the field."
"Man I remember some dude didn't put the sheet on his bunk the right way and had to wear the sheet as a cloak and go to all the other barracks dancing around sing about how he was the 'Catch Edge Fairy' or something. It was pretty silly, he owned it though. He was doing twirls the whole time. This was Navy bootcamp."
– Konebred
Despite how they are depicted on film, drill instructors are people who care.
Like, Beals – a drill sergeant at Fort Knox, Kentucky – who said:
"We provide more than just physical, mental and emotional guidance for them. You are a father, a preacher, a financial advisor, a counselor-you provide so many different services to the Soldier that the regular public doesn't see on day to day basis."
"They see what they see in movies and what they hear about by word of mouth. But you are fulfilling so many roles other than just being a trainer and teaching an individual how to be a Soldier in the Army."
And occasionally, they are having a laugh at the crazy things their trainees do.