Don’t be too Clever to Take Obvious Advice

An insidious pattern among smart people is feeling that because something is familiar and obvious, you are impervious to ignoring or forgetting it. In challenging times, I have often heard these clichés and reflexively shrugged them off. “Oh, I should dust myself off and pick myself up? What a lazy aphorism. What a patronising throwaway line. They must think I’m some kind of idiot. No, it must be something else…” There is a filter in many people’s heads that functions to ignore clichés on the basis that they are mere clichés. However, looking closely at your actions, decisions and attitudes will almost invariably reveal you are dropping the ball on at least a few of the most obvious bits of pop wisdom that are all clearly good practices.Some (non exhaustive) examples of these “yeah, obviously” pieces of advice that are worth deliberately checking on a regular basis include:Believe in yourselfThe greatest example of an eye-rolling cliché is also one of the highest impact pieces of advice ever articulated. Self-belief is the foundation of morale, and without morale, you are doomed. If the words “believe in yourself” evoke a sense of exasperation when you hear them, that’s probably a bad sign. Do you believe in yourself? Look on the bright sideOften offered as a generic pacifier when nothing practical seems to be available - and nonetheless essential. Looking on the bright side is not a logical fallacy. No human is so clever as to transcend the need to find silver linings in favour of ruthless “objectivity”. Believing most facts about a thing are negative, and therefore it will do no good to regard the positives, is a surefire way to render yourself miserable and ineffective. Are you looking on the bright side?The 80/20 ruleA more modern aphorism - that most of your outputs come from a minority of your inputs, and it behooves you to focus on the most productive inputs. Many smart people will pay lip service to this but ignore it and waste their day with busywork. The 8