I’ve had several conversations recently where the idea came up that advice is situational. And, for any often used piece of advice, it’s sometimes easy to give exactly the opposite advice. The hard part is deciding what advice (if any) to take in your situation. As I was saying this, I kept remembering a table I had read somewhere of “exact opposite” advice. I finally found it when revisiting a great book called The Happiness Equation. Here’s the table from that book.
| Defense wins championships. | The best defense is a good offense. |
| Birds of a feather flock together. | Opposites attract. |
| You’re never too old to learn. | You can’t teach an old dog new tricks. |
| Clothes make the man. | You can’t judge a book by its cover. |
| Absence makes the heart grow fonder. | Out of sight, out of mind. |
| Nothing ventured, nothing gained. | Better safe than sorry. |
| You get what you pay for. | The best things in life are free. |
| Good things come to those who wait. | The early bird gets the worm. |
| The pen is mightier than the sword. | Actions speak louder than words. |
“Advice is never objectively true in all situations.”
What other pairs can you add? Please do so in the comments!
