Common Sense Ten

Ten Things You Should Not Do (Even When the Internet Tells You To):

Bathe only twice or three times a week: Unless you are living in a plastic bubble, you sweat and get dirty and generally stink by the end of every day. You always do, even if you think otherwise, because of the bacteria on your skin, the things you come in contact with over the course of the day and night, and your own (and perhaps other people's) body fluids. Please ignore poor hygiene advice wrapped in a "healthy" banner and bathe yourself every day. Every. Day. Also, use soap. It would be nice if you washed your hair, too, but I won't push it.

Buy and Collect [pricey, worthless, or pricey worthless item] as an investment: Two words for you: Beanie Babies. Stop believing the get rich from collecting folks, who are getting rich off your obsession to get rich quick and spend your money on things like groceries, paying off your credit cards, saving up for a vacation or new car, etc.

Fall for a Conspiracy Theory: Folks who tout conspiracy theories are generally trying to stoke distrust and outrage by preying on collective fears. The world is a scary place, and it's not getting less scary. I don't question their content, which may or may not be true. I'm not the internet police. Most of the time these questionable theories surround issues that none of us can do anything about in a practical sense anyway. What I question is their motives, and I think so should you.

Gambling on Anything Online: Going onto gambling web sites that offer you money to make bets is like getting the first fix free from a drug dealer. You will never get rich spending money this way. There is no system, no fairy dust and no way to profit from gambling. It's an addiction that destroys lives as thoroughly as booze or drugs. Please seek help if it's become a problem.

Rejuvenate Your Skin with [expensive product]: Skin damage, especially from ageing, cannot be reversed. There are a few dermatologist treatments that can make it less noticeable, but once you grow older and wrinkle, you stay older and wrinkled. Yes, there are face lifts and other plastic surgery type solutions, but you risk nerve damage and other issues from those. All those creams with the fancy ingredients and outrageous price tags do is hydrate your skin for a bit before you wash them off or they evaporate. The cheap stuff does the exact same thing. My advice is to accept that you are getting older and (hopefully) wiser because no one can stay young forever.

Kill Cancer/Reverse Diabetes/End Ageing by Eating [insert expensive food or supplement]: Think of it this way: if it were that easy, why wouldn't oncologists and doctors be out of business? Also, why would cancer, diabetes and ageing still exist if the fix was this easy? Exactly. Stop wasting your money and follow your doctor's advice. You know, that person who actually went to medical school instead of making predatory videos on YouTube.

Lose Weight by [Drugs, Fad Diets or Expensive, Tricksy Regime Touted by Very Muscular Dudes]: Starvation drugs like GLP-1s, which among other things paralyze your gut and stop you from going to the bathroom, are gross. According to what I've read when you stop taking them, you put the weight back on, so it's not a solution but a temporary fix. Fad diets and eating regimes you hear about in YouTube are mostly quackery or nonsense. In my opinion the only guaranteed way to lose weight is the hard way: eat healthier, reduce your overall caloric intake and boost your daily exercise by a lot. Please note I am not a doctor. I'm just someone who has struggled with her weight for the last thirty years, lost 50 lbs. the hard way, and to date has kept it off.

Make Money by [paying money to internet entity for dubious income advice]: If they made so much money doing whatever, why aren't they off doing it now? And the "I want to help others get rich, too" nonsense is just nonsense. If I could make a million dollars a month, you all would never hear from me again. Here's a more practical solution: get a job doing something you like (or can tolerate.)

Stop Eating for X Amount of Days for Any Reason: Starvation is not dieting, anti-ageing or anything else you're being told. It is starvation. Please eat at least one nutritious meal per day.

Write a Novel in One Week with [Pricey Writing Program]: I have been writing novels professionally since 1998. I am a faster writer than 99% of the other pro writers I know, and the fastest I've ever written the first draft of a novel was three weeks of 18 hour days. Most aspiring writers who buy into pricey writing programs are looking for easy, quick ways to write books and/or to eliminate whatever is stalling them. Bottom line: no amount of money you throw at your slowness or inability to finish a book is going to make it go away. Do the work. Sit your butt in the chair and write. Repeat that until you have a novel. That's all.

Image credit: Image by Luisella Planeta LOVE PEACE 💛💙 from Pixabay