Pretty much everything I was told about employment when I entered the work force (2005ish). New workers seem to have wised up a bit, seeing us go through the hoops with nothing to show for it, but all the absolute bullshit about hard work paying off, take care of your employer and your employer will take care of you, etc.

…and it’s hard to shake off that programming when you hear it your entire childhood from older folks who apparently actually did benefit from that advice.

Hearing Gen Z’ers and such say things like “act your wage” or complain about the rug being pulled out from under them without needing to stand on it for 20 years first is fucking awesome! The younger workers aren’t just bending over and taking it in the hopes things will get better someday like we did. Gen Z is going to go down as a major contributor to workers’ rights.

I was advised by a group therapist, when having “cold feet” about commitment in a relationship, to just think about how bad the alternative might be. She had a friend who had reservations about getting married, and then thought not getting married would be stressful too, so she went ahead with the marriage. It was terrible advice, especially from a therapist providing guidance for some very troubled people. The only good reason to commit to a relationship is because you really want it, not because you’re afraid of what will happen otherwise!

When I was about to graduate high school a uncle in law told me to make sure I pick a college with a football team I’m comfortable rooting for for the rest of my life.

“Just push through the pain.” Yeah, great way to turn your minor injury into a major one.

Just ignore the bullies and they’ll stop.

Nope, they just hit you harder

Some old redneck man who was a friend of a family member, who was in a failing marriage with a woman 10-15 years older than him told me “Don’t treat a woman like gold, treat her like shit and she’ll never leave you” or something to that effect. That sounded horrible even to 13 year old me.

many items listed at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_common_misconceptions are often presented as advice