You don't do certain things because you're 'that type of person' - you're that type of person because of the things you do
"This idea — that who you are abides somehow outside of what you do — is the defining fantasy of our culture, and it appeals particularly to children."
The catharsis model of anger is a myth. 'Letting off steam' makes you feel more angry, more frequently.
The basic problem with this idea is that it's been disproven in a tonne of studies.
On overthinking things, and telling people not to overthink things
Pretty close to 100% of the people who have told me not to overthink things are people with a history of poor decision-making.
![If someone says "I don't like [thing]", resist the urge to say "you just haven't tried the right [thing]!"](https://images.unsplash.com/photo-1622844129240-b35b5595a11b?crop=entropy&cs=tinysrgb&fit=max&fm=jpg&ixid=MnwxMTc3M3wwfDF8c2VhcmNofDF8fGFubm95aW5nfGVufDB8fHx8MTY0NjgwMzAyNQ&ixlib=rb-1.2.1&q=80&w=1460)
If someone says "I don't like [thing]", resist the urge to say "you just haven't tried the right [thing]!"
Or "But have you tried [specific version of thing]?" You know it's annoying so stop yourself.
"Is it tacky to tell someone the gift you got them is high-value?"
A gift that requires special care is giving them an object, but taking away their time - since most people are time-poor rather than object-poor, this may not be a good trade-off.
Stop saying "I wouldn't have expected you to like that!"
Learn to bite your tongue on this one because it is massively annoying (as you probably know, since it's probably happened to you).
How to survive solitary confinement
From someone who's been through it: you'll go crazy anyway, so go crazy with intention, to protect your brain.
Guardian spirits: An alternative to role models
A guardian spirit only needs to watch over one area of your life. You could have one for your garden, one for trying to be a good friend, one for work.
Old happy couples: running out of things to talk about vs being able to be silent together
What a blessing it is to have a friend to whom one can speak fearlessly on any subject; with whom one’s deepest as well as one’s most foolish thoughts come out simply and safely.
I can't think of a single time when it would be appropriate to say "Be careful" to someone
People say it to people who are about to go on holiday and that is... what are you doing? They are trying to have a nice time and take a break. Tell them to have fun!