Best advice I've been Given

Advice- it's a tough subject. Sometimes you take it, many times you don't.

We've all been given lots and lots of advice the years of our lives. About school, about sports, about friendships and dating. We are given advice about our money, our homes, our jobs, our families. How to raise our children, our pets. Advice on how to dress, eat, work-out. Basically it's constant, consistent, and everyone and their mother has one.

I'm not sure there is one piece in particular that has been given to me that has better than others. And I'm not sure if this qualifies as "advice" but growing up my mother had a few sayings that I still frequently repeat and remind myself of...

"Don't JTC"- also known as Don't Jump to Conclusions. oh this was a big one in my house, and one I will say to the day I die. Mostly used to remind us that hey- you never know how something is going to end, or how something happened. We can't read each others minds (thank goodness) and you do not know the whole story until it's finished. I've said it to the kids I've watched, my friends and used it many times in family arguments. Bottom line, don't JTC.

"That belongs to the 3 U's"- it's unladylike, unbecoming, and unnecessary. Another family favorite. I can't even count how many times we heard this. I'm not as a big of a fan on the 3 U's mostly because I'm a bit more of a feminist these days and please tell me what actually qualifies as being "ladylike"..  Even so it is useful in the way of thinking before you speak, talking before you act. Is what you are about to do necessary? Will it make a good impression? Is it something you want people to remember?

Those two things have stuck with me the most over the years, and I will most likely hand down to my own children. I'm sure I've heard lots of other advice over the years about a variety of subjects. I like that mine can apply to a lot of things. And I guess I should say "Thanks Mom" for sticking them into my head.