February 20, 2005

Good Advices for the Internets

Or, alternately, dumb platitudes that make one feel better--you decide.

Things I have learned, directly or indirectly, from various family members:

1. Pay attention to what people do, not what they say. The latter often lies, but the former seldom does.

2. If you receive a compliment that you're 90% sure you did not fully deserve--either it's wildly out of proportion to your actual deeds, or seems to have been lobbed at you for no reason at all--odds are it's flattery.

3. A habitual flatterer always wants something from you. The less time you spend trying to figure out what it is, the faster you can pedal away from that person.

4. If someone continually blindsides you, either check your blind spot more often or go stand in the middle of theirs.

5. Rule #1 holds even when rules 2-4 don't.

Posted by Ilyka at February 20, 2005 05:51 AM in i don't know you tell me
Comments

Good advice. Too bad, I'm usually to stupid (or blind) to remember such when I'm IN such a situation.

Maybe I'll have to bookmark this post and keep referring to it. That'd probably help.

Posted by: Margi at February 20, 2005 07:52 AM

I really like #4. Fitting advice.

Posted by: michele at February 20, 2005 10:20 AM

Absolutely perfect post.

Uh, I mean...

Posted by: Hubris at February 20, 2005 02:08 PM

I just love your posts. Love them, love them, love them.

Now, about that 20 bucks....

Seriously, not sure who's getting to you, but sorry about that. I tend to just be constantly surprised by the human race in general, so #1 already has me confused. Sounds like a little cleaning out the closet in the roadmap ahead for you.

God, I just used "roadmap" in a comment.

I'm such a fucking loser.

Posted by: Helen at February 21, 2005 01:17 PM

I don't think I've ever had a flatterer. Then again it could just be that my swelled head takes just about any compliment as my just due.

Yeah, that's probably it.

Posted by: Jim at February 21, 2005 01:42 PM