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People Are Sharing “Cheat Codes” For The Game Of Life That Actually Work, And Here Are 50 Of The Best Ones

People Are Sharing “Cheat Codes” For The Game Of Life That Actually Work, And Here Are 50 Of The Best Ones

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If you’re anything like us, you might randomly start daydreaming about just how awesome things would be if life were more like our favorite video games. The plotlines would be better, we’d feel empowered, and it’d be extremely convenient to see our stats and abilities whenever we want. And if things get too tough—our rent increases a bunch or we find ourselves frequently ill—we could simply type in a ‘cheat code’ and find our problems disappear, effortlessly.
Though real life is as far from video gamey as things can get (look, I really want my own personal starship), cheat codes actually do exist in real life. It’s small things that you can do throughout your day that drastically improve the quality of your life. And though it’s not actually ‘cheating,’ the positive results can make you feel as though you’ve got an angel or a wizard in your corner, backing you up.
The insightful folks over on r/AskReddit have shared a whole bunch of cheat codes for life in a series of fun and informative threads. Bored Panda has compiled the very best posts to give you a boost in whatever part of your life that might feel lacking, dear Readers. From relationships and cooking to parenting and health, there's a hack for pretty much every situation. Upvote your fave tips and tricks, and pop by the comment section to share your own advice that’s so powerful, you can’t keep the secret all to yourself.
Oh, and in case you’d like a crash course on excelling at work and navigating tense job situations, we’ve got you covered. Check out Bored Panda’s recent list of workplace cheat codes right over here, when you’re done reading through this article.
Bored Panda reached out to fitness coach Anna Armagno Toussaint for her advice and 'cheat codes' when it comes to taking care of our physical and mental health. Read on our full interview with the fitness expert below.

#1

My big cheat code is always compliment. Not their eyes or weight, but something that they chose. An unnatural hair color, a dope a** backpack, or some wicked Chucks they're rocking.
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362points

#2

Cutting toxic people out of your life has zero consequences and will make your life 100% better.
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352points

#3

Be polite to people who can help you over the phone. I’ve had people bend over backwards to help me just because I was nice.
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342points

Bored Panda wanted to get fitness coach Anna's opinion about the type of mindset that helps pursue fitness goals, what we can do if we feel that we hate exercise, and how to get ourselves to drink more water throughout the day. She highlighted the fact that when we move in a way that we thoroughly enjoy, it doesn't feel like we're forcing ourselves to exercise.

"When I first got into exercise I did a dance cardio program because I didn't want to feel like I was working out. That plus the goal of one serving of veggies per day (I wasn't always getting that) and I lost about 5 pounds after 3 weeks. That was enough proof for me to push a little harder," coach Anna told us.

"But setting small goals is a great start. So even if it is a 10-minute workout from YouTube or stretching or 10 squats and lunges. Any small step in the right direction is still progress," she pointed out that every tiny little step really does count. No matter how small the step might seem, you're making progress, and that's what's important.

#4

People don't think about you as much as you think they do.
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307points

#5

People Are Sharing “Cheat Codes” For The Game Of Life That Actually Work, And Here Are 50 Of The Best Ones
If you're a parent and want to enjoy some time undisturbed use the cheat code "I'm gonna take a nap and when I wake up we'll all do chores together" on your kids. They'll want to let you sleep as long as possible to avoid doing housework, so they'll leave you alone to actually nap or do other things like read.
282points

#6

People Are Sharing “Cheat Codes” For The Game Of Life That Actually Work, And Here Are 50 Of The Best Ones
Even if it is on sale, you still have to spend money.
250points

Odds are that you probably don't drink enough water. Many of our friends, coworkers, relatives, and acquaintances aren't staying hydrated enough.

"I think most people in general don't drink enough water. The American goal is half your body weight (measured in pounds) in ounces of water, so a 200-pound man should drink 100 ounces of water," she said. So, someone who weighs 90.7kg should aim to drink around 3 liters of water each day. Obviously, with how busy our lives are, we can forget to hydrate. And nobody enjoys feeling forced to do something.

#7

If you want an answer to something, don't just ask. No one answers. Instead you deliberately put in the wrong answer: "Is THIS how you do something? xyz". People just love to correct you. They just hate answering straight questions for unknown reasons..
243points

#8

People Are Sharing “Cheat Codes” For The Game Of Life That Actually Work, And Here Are 50 Of The Best Ones
When you are really angry at someone, write why you are down on a piece of paper and sleep on it. If you are still angry about it in the morning talk to them about it. This has saved me from making a big deal out of relatively small things.
236points

#9

People Are Sharing “Cheat Codes” For The Game Of Life That Actually Work, And Here Are 50 Of The Best Ones
Books, they are the real cheat codes for life. in a few hours reading you get information that took years for the author to get.
My favorite books are 'A brief history of nearly everything' by Bill Bryson, 'And then there were none' by Agatha Christie and 'A brief history of time' by Stephen Hawking
230points

Anna's tip for getting around this conundrum is to not just drink plain, "boring" water. She explained that tea, electrolyte powder, and seltzer all count toward your fluid intake. Though if you're using any flavorings, be sure to watch the amount of sugar you ingest. What's more, eating fresh fruits and veggies will help hydrate you.

We were also curious about the type of mindset that can help get the best physical and mental health results. "You have to love yourself enough to want to do better. Punishing yourself or starving yourself will not last and it will be so bad for your mental health," the fitness coach said.

"One thing that helped me was the recommendation to read personal development books, which is usually 200 pages of telling you you're great," she added.

#10

People Are Sharing “Cheat Codes” For The Game Of Life That Actually Work, And Here Are 50 Of The Best Ones
Playing dumb has gotten me out of trouble more than once.
222points

#11

Respond with a friendly and polite attitude when someone is being an [jerk]. It shuts them down 90% of the time.
Eventually you develop a reputation for being calm and consistently friendly with assholes, so if you DO decide to cuss out or be rude to that last 10%, your coworkers and boss won't believe the complaints. :)
Whatcha gonna do about it, customers?
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202points

#12

People Are Sharing “Cheat Codes” For The Game Of Life That Actually Work, And Here Are 50 Of The Best Ones
Plant food, but focus on perennials.
Spring hits, food just starts growing. Everyone is starting seeds, and I will have asparagus in about a week. My garage is filled with Jerusalem Artichokes. I have thousands of strawberry plants out of the 4 that I bought.
Given everything that's going on right now, I think a lot of people would really benefit to having food growing on their land instead of just useless grass lawns. Keep some lawn, sure, but maybe also plant some potatoes or something. Everyone's freaking out about a food crisis and I just keep giving food away to neighbours. I also just do this as a hobby, I work full time. I just decided to replace some lawn with food, and it's been really helping out people around me as they panic about being locked up and having nothing to eat.
Now imagine if everyone did this. Not a ton, just a little here and there. How much less stressful would this crisis be if everyone had 6 months of stored food at all times - kinda like their grandparents lived. It's actually not that hard either. Some stuff is hard, but some stuff is stupid easy, like Jerusalem Artichokes, strawberries, fruit trees, etc.
195points

We’ve picked up a few pearls of wisdom over the years circling the sun on this blue-and-green rock we call home. In short, what helps you lead a happy, high-quality life includes taking good care of your body and mind, learning how to communicate with others, and recognizing what emotions you feel without shying away from them and without being controlled by them.

A lot of misunderstandings and arguments happen because of breakdowns in communication. When not everyone is on the same page, someone might end up hurting someone else by unintentionally crossing their boundaries, setting up wildly different expectations, or accidentally hurting their feelings in a hundred tiny ways.

People tend to avoid conflicts and don’t necessarily like to gamble with their social reputation. That’s why you see so many folks being passive bystanders in tense situations, whether at work, school, or at home.

#13

When it looks like someone isn't going to give you space on the side walk, I stop walking and pretend I've stopped walking because something on my phone caught my attention.
We're now no longer playing king of the side walk. They're faced with the choice of walking into someone standing still, or moving to their side. I've never had someone not give me appropriate room doing this.
193points

#14

People Are Sharing “Cheat Codes” For The Game Of Life That Actually Work, And Here Are 50 Of The Best Ones
Count to 5 before opening your mouth, does magic, sometimes you'll discover that you don't even have to open it.
185points

#15

If you want food to taste good, butter.
I used to think there was something restaurants did to make food so delicious and they must be amazing cooks. I'm sure some of them are.
But when my daughter was a toddler, she was underweight and the doctor told me to add twice as much butter to my cooking for her to get extra calories. Turns out, butter is amazing. Half the time when you eat something that is just heavenly, it isn't magic or crazy skills or exotic ingredients. It's just butter, and lots of it.
Edit: This isn't to discredit people who are actually great cooks! Butter isnt the end-all of good cooking. But it is really difficult to make good food with only minimal fat and it is really easy to make good food with a lot of fat. If you want to be a 10/10 cook, go to culinary school. If you want to take your cooking from 3/10 to 7/10, add butter.
175points

In our experience, the best antidote for anxiety, anger, and angst is the humble, friendly-yet-honest conversation. Sit down, have an open chat about how you’re feeling, what your expectations are, and try to get the other person’s side of the story if there’s a disagreement. Look for common ground, consider compromises. There are very few people who are genuinely evil in this world. Misguided, confused, sometimes incompetent, with different goals, aspirations, and worldviews than yours—but rarely evil.

So your go-to approach when dealing with social conflicts should be diplomacy, setting clear boundaries (without forgetting to enforce them), and, well, taking steps to address the problem in the first place.

People tend to think about themselves and only themselves first and foremost, so what might be an issue that’s making your life hell might not be something that your friend, boss, or family member might even be aware of. It takes courage to actively work on fixing your problems instead of hiding from them. It might be uncomfortable, but it’s always well worth it in the end.

#16

People Are Sharing “Cheat Codes” For The Game Of Life That Actually Work, And Here Are 50 Of The Best Ones
Give a customer a longer estimate knowing it wont take that long, and then that way it impresses and pleases them when you gets the results more quickly. This is a "cheat code," because it gives the impression that you've worked harder or faster, when really you're just manipulating expectations.
This can apply to most any timetable or deadline. The easiest example would be a hostess at a restaurant. Tell a party it will take 30min to be seated, knowing it will take actually take 10-15min.
IIRC, this technique was mentioned on Star Trek as a ploy the engineers would often use to impress the captain.
161points

#17

If anything seems too big or too difficult break it down into small steps.
150points

#18

People Are Sharing “Cheat Codes” For The Game Of Life That Actually Work, And Here Are 50 Of The Best Ones
Use your local area code + 867-5309 as the membership id at almost every grocery store and it will work. You get the discount without having to sign up because someone else already signed up with that number.
Shout out to Tommy Tutone.
146points

Another major piece of wisdom that we can share is learning to deal with your emotions. They’re what make us human. However, constantly being at the mercy of what you feel can make life far more difficult. Embarrassment and failure are integral parts of life on Planet Earth. One of the best things you can do is to learn to embrace these feelings and admit to your mistakes, instead of running away from them.

That way, you’ll be far fitter, emotionally. And if people see you act in a humble way, they’re much more likely to respond positively to you.

#19

People Are Sharing “Cheat Codes” For The Game Of Life That Actually Work, And Here Are 50 Of The Best Ones
For college kids: if you need a bunch of sources for a paper just go to the Wikipedia page and go to the bottom where the sources are. There’s usually more than 50 PROPER sources in citation format.
Please, make sure to at least briefly read over the source to make sure it’s relevant to your topic.
139points

#20

Brushing your teeth when you're young and continuing to do so throughout your life will save you a lot of money after 30.
134points
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