Summer Blog Challenge: Day 14

Today's Challenge: What 15 tips would you give to help a person get through life?

Okay, this one is hard. I have to think a lot to answer this. I mean giving advice is serious business. You don't want to screw that up.

Hmmm....

Well, I guess I will just take this one at a time. Hopefully, I can come up with 15 good pieces of advice and none of you will ever need to hunt me down and ask me why-oh-why I said what I did! You should know that I thought about this so much that it took me 24 hours to write.

Words to Live By:

1. Mother really does know best. There are, unfortunately, a few moms out there that couldn't care less about their children. But if yours loves you, listen to her. She wants you to learn from her mistakes so you don't have to go through anything unnecessarily.
2. Money isn't as important as you think it is. But once you have it, it becomes more difficult to live without it. Live frugally from the start and you will be able to do so much more with so much less. And you will be able to place your focus on more important things.
3. Being eco-friendly isn't a fad. It's an or-else. If you want this planet to sustain human life for much longer, being eco-friendly is a necessity. And it's urgent. Of course, if enough people ignore this advice, the planet will cleanse itself. You don't want that. Trust me.
4. Make family time a priority. Whether that means going by mom's or just cutting off the television to play a game with your kids, it's important to put family time at the top of your to-do list each day. You will never be able to get that time back if you put it off. Which leads right into #5....
5. Never put off till tomorrow, what you can do today. I am still trying to get better at this. It's a great rule to live by. Your to-do list will never overwhelm you if you stay on top of it. 
6. Quality not quantity in all things. This is true of who your friends are, how you spend your time, your job vs. your paycheck,  the food you eat, and more. Think about it. Do you want more mail or one piece of good mail?
7. Put God first, family second, work third. A former employer told me this and ,even though we never got along very well, this piece of advice stuck with me. Because it's good advice.
8. Remember that attitudes are contagious. Just like it's hard for you to keep smiling when you are working or living with someone who's being negative, if you respond likewise nothing will change. Instead of catching that negative attitude, try giving them a better one to catch from you. 
9. Choose your battles wisely. Not everything is worth the fight. Sometimes it's better to just let it go. But when it is really important, stand up boldly.
10. Keep looking forward, not backward. We can't change what's already happened, so why make yourself miserable? Let it go, lesson learned, and move on.
11. Choose your mate carefully. Take your time. Dating is a time to check out a person and see if he/she is worthy of a lifetime comittment. If not, move on. And when you do find the one, hold on.
12. Always be willing to compromise. Even when you're sure you are right, the other person is sure of the same. You won't always win and it's better to give a little than to get nothing. 
13. Never hold a grudge. But never forget either. It just isn't healthy to hold onto bitterness. We need to forgive. But you must always remember so that you will be more careful with the people who have wronged you in the past. They may never wrong you again. Or they may never change. 
14. Have pets and love them like children. Research has proven that people with pets live longer, healthier, and happier lives. Why wouldn't you want that? And they will love you unconditionally and keep you company when nobody else will.
15. Practice patience in all things. Note that I did not say be patient in all things because that would be humanly impossible. But practice, work at it, and keep practicing. Patience is probably the most difficult virtue to live by, but it is probably the most important to reach for, too.