1. Trying to reason with someone who’s being irrational.
2. Trying to placate a bully. Bullies can smell blood, and they view sanity and decency as weaknesses. The only solutions are (a) retreat and avoid, or, if that’s not possible, (b) stand your ground and fight back.
3. Road rage. Nothing good comes from this. If another driver’s causing trouble, just slow down and let the person move onward. That individual is officially out of your life and no longer your problem.
4. Fad diets. There’s no food or beverage that will magically “melt fat” or “speed metabolism.” The only valid formula is consume fewer calories than expended.
5. Designer clothing and accessories. The best-dressed, most attractive people have a sense of style, not a love of hefty price tags. They know how to recognize quality and carry themselves with confidence.
6. Complaining. Nobody cares, and you make yourself insufferable.
7. Luxury toiletries and cosmetics. Such items have the same ingredients as the products sold on store racks, but at multiple times the price.
8. Drinking excessively. There’s no problem in life that can’t be made worse by pouring alcohol over it.
9. Letting someone waste your time. If you have friends who are chronically late and always keep you waiting, they’re draining precious moments from you. When you know that someone’s embarked on a long, tedious monologue that you don’t want to hear, suddenly look at your watch and need to be elsewhere. Time is the most precious commodity, and it can’t be regained after it’s been lost.
10. Co-showering. One of my personal pet peeves! This always looks sexy and romantic in movies. The reality – the space is cramped, and you need to stand around and wait for your turn under the water. I prefer to think and get clean in the shower, not flirt and act pleased about sharing the 10-or-so square feet.
