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The Guardian - Back to homeThe Guardian

Words to live by

Throughout our lives we are all given mountains of advice, some great, some terrible. This is a series about the advice that sticks around and changes us for the better

24 January 2024

  • Benita Kolovos

    Mum told me you don’t want to peak in high school. Her advice guides me still

    Benita Kolovos
    I was 13 when she first said it and I recall thinking the woman was unwell. But eventually those words clicked

22 January 2024

  • view from backseat of a car

    I was getting older and feeling clueless when a quote about the ‘afternoon of life’ inspired my reinvention

    Vicki Milliken
    Five years ago, Vicki Milliken started the new year feeling weary and disenchanted. Then she encountered a line from Carl Jung

17 January 2024

  • Illustration of a Donkey

    Everyone should heed my music teacher’s advice: ‘When you assume, you make an ass out of you and me’

    Yvonne C Lam
    A transgression in a university classical music rehearsal prompted advice that Yvonne Lam has held to – and mostly followed – since

15 January 2024

  • ‘Go placidly amid the noise and haste, and remember what peace there may be in silence.’

    A poem on an antiques shop poster provided a lifelong reminder to ‘go placidly amid the noise’

    James Shackell
    In this series, Guardian writers share the best advice they have ever received and how it has changed their lives

10 January 2024

  • A black and white image of a young man in the 1970s with books open in front of him

    My father told me to always give a book 50 pages before deciding to put it down. It’s a good rule of thumb for life, too

    Adele Dumont
    Adele Dumont’s father wasn’t the type to give advice but his recommendation about reading can be extended to giving everything a fair chance

8 January 2024

  • Father pulling son in wagon

    I was freaking out about our baby’s arrival when my friend reminded me, ‘You’re still you – but with kids’

    Jasper Peach
    In this series, writers share the best advice they ever received and how it impacted their lives

3 January 2024

  • Two young women at a table

    My high school teacher accidentally gave me a lifelong mantra: ‘If you think you hate everyone, have something to eat’

    Wendy Syfret
    In this series, writers share the best advice they ever received and how it affected their lives

1 January 2024

  • A high diver performing

    I was five years old when the teacher yelled at me: ‘Get your head in the water … NOW!’

    Denise Cullen
    Tough love from a childhood swimming teacher has endured as a mantra for the days when I’m failing to get things done

12 February 2023

  • Tory Shepherd

    I was feeling anxious and an imposter, then my buddy said: ‘Judge yourself by your friends’

    Tory Shepherd
    A passing comment from a friend lost too soon has turned into a series of soothing mantras for Tory Shepherd

10 February 2023

  • Josh Nicholas

    My grandfather was quick with advice, but it’s a poem about self belief that stayed with me

    Josh Nicholas
    Through great personal challenge, Josh Nicholas held to the refrain: ‘Sooner or later the man who wins is the one who thinks he can’

27 January 2023

  • Alyx Gorman

    I’ll never regret following my mum’s best-ever advice: ‘If you’re going to say something nice, say it in writing’

    Alyx Gorman
    The simple advice has helped Alyx Gorman proudly navigate the finer points of office politics (and haunted her when she’s ignored them)

23 January 2023

  • Bridie Jabour

    Mum watched me correct my husband, then sagely warned me: ‘Don’t become the expert in the baby’

    Bridie Jabour
    Overtired and overwhelmed by life with a new baby, advice from her mother altered Bridie Jabour’s approach to co-parenting

20 January 2023

  • A woman does a handstand

    I was a student far from home when George Eliot taught me to consider the perspectives of others

    Natasha May
    Alone in England, Natasha May found messages from Middlemarch offered enduring lessons for how to live well

18 January 2023

  • Elias Visontay

    I was quick to ignore parental guidance, but when dad told me to take cheese off my car I should have listened

    Elias Visontay
    It was the youth hoodlums who threw a slice of cheese on Elias Vistonay’s car. What happened next, though, was pretty much his own fault

16 January 2023

  • Bertin Huynh

    After years of reciting chants, it finally clicked: ‘Just because we see or feel it, doesn’t mean it’s true’

    Bertin Huynh
    Being able to separate himself from the negative emotions he can feel has steered Bertin Huynh through substantial life challenges

13 January 2023

  • Stephanie Convery

    I was struggling to write when someone said: ‘You must show up for your art’

    Stephanie Convery
    Over a Christmas conversation, Stephanie Convery’s brother-in-law shared his invaluable advice: set aside 30 minutes a day to write, or do nothing at all

11 January 2023

  • Gabrielle Chan

    I’ve never forgotten the advice of a 100-year-old cowgirl: ‘Always check your own girth strap’

    Gabrielle Chan
    In theory it’s advice about riding horses safely, but advice dispensed via Gabrielle Chan’s husband is a lesson in personal responsibility too

9 January 2023

  • Karishma Luthria

    ‘Just be yourself,’ my colleague said. It was the first time in my life anyone told me I could do that

    Karishma Luthria
    It may sound trite to some, but advice to follow her own values and desires was transformative for Karishma Luthria

6 January 2023

  • Construction worker showing off by hanging precariously from a metal scaffold high above a city

    I was only a child when Dad told me: ‘You might be right, but you’re still dead’

    Patrick Lum
    What started as advice about crossing the road ended up providing Patrick Lum with a rule for navigating life

4 January 2023

  • Antoun Issa

    I was cycling through friends like toilet paper when a colleague declared: ‘Spend quality time with quality people’

    Antoun Issa
    Antoun Issa was only in his 20s when an older workmate helped reframe his thinking about friendship forever
About 21 results for Words to live by
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