Life isn’t easy. We can all use a little sagely advice once in a while. Whether it’s from elders who’ve been in our shoes before or helpful guides on how to be an adult, these sites will give you pearls of wisdom to tackle life.
Previously, we have featured a few sites that offer good free advice online, which includes old stalwarts like Elder Wisdom Circle. But the internet has grown since then and there are new resources worth checking out, as well as a few famous gems that we haven’t talked about before.
1. Hey From The Future (Web): Age-Specific Advice
One of the internet’s favorite questions is to ask, “What would you tell your younger self right now?” Hey From The Future took that and turned it into an app where you get life advice at any age from someone who has been there.
All you have to do is select your current age, from 13 years old and upwards. The next page will give you all the advice that people from different ages have left with regards to what they wish they knew at that age. It’s a mix of perspectives from someone who just passed that year to someone even twice in age. They’re ranked based on upvotes and downvotes.
These life tips come from people across the world. Obviously, you shouldn’t stick to your current age alone. Look at the advice available for a year or two either side because there’s a good chance it would be applicable to you as well.
And of course, contribute your own life learnings for those younger than you. After quickly registering, you can share some wisdom for your past self or to a younger friend.
2. How to Grow the F*** Up (Web): A Guide to Adulting
Given the name of the site, don’t be surprised with the foul language on it. But if you can look past that, HTGTFU is a treasure-trove of life advice for anyone looking to grow up and behave like a functional member of society.
The articles offer strong and practical advice on several aspects of “adulting” such as moving out into your own apartment, educational loans and choices, job hunting and work life, how to handle your personal finances, health and life skills, relationship and fashion advice, and so on. There are articles on every subject you’ll come across if you’re getting your life in order.
So why the foul language? Well, the site started as a joke between the two founders who were frustrated with how their friends didn’t have basic life skills. The original guides were meant to be humorous and insulting because their friends could take it. But as the audience grew, the tone of later guides has changed and it’s not foul-mouthed any more. Several of the articles are nothing but helpful guides.
3. Zen Pencils (Web): Famous Advice as Comic Strips
Even after thousands of articles on Make Use Of, we have somehow never written about one of the internet’s darlings, Zen Pencils. While it’s no longer updated, cartoonist Gavin Aung Than’s comic strips of inspirational quotes is the kind of advice you never knew you needed.
Each Zen Pencil takes inspirational life advice from a famous person and turns it into a comic book page. The dialogue takes you through what the writer is saying, while the illustrations depict the intended meaning behind it. Each comic is a pleasant, inspiring, and easy read, and you’re guaranteed to fall in love with the works.
You can go through the 223 comics in order, click the Random button, or use the Jump To dropdown bar which shows the name of the famous person and their quote. The dropdown includes a search bar too.
Browse the site for free posters, coloring pages, and other odds and bits that you can download. Gavin also has a couple of books worth checking out.
4. Unmistakable Creative (Web, Podcast): Life Advice from 100 Interesting People
In the Unmistakable Creative podcast, founder Srinivas Rao interviews interesting people with different successes for their two bits on how to live life and be creative. Over the course of his podcast, Rao has interviewed hundreds of such achievers and turned the best advice into a single list.
Available as a Medium post, this life-changing advice from 100 interesting people includes topics such as balancing your life, finding happiness in everyday moments, tackling self-doubts and imposter syndrome, handling relationships and intimacy, and more. This is advice that applies to all aspects of your life. Interviewees include famous names like Danielle LaPorte, Dani Shapiro, and James Clear.
The best part about the list is that you don’t have to go through each podcast to get to the advice. Rao has handpicked the relevant quote and its meaning for you in this handy list, so that you can read and move on without listening. Of course, if you like what you read, you’ll only benefit by listening to the whole episode.
5. r/Advice and Reddit’s Other Helpful Communities for Advice
If you want to ask questions and get answers, sign up for Reddit and use one of the many advice-oriented subreddits. From general advice to specific topics, you’ll find everything here.
The central advice hub is r/Advice where you can ask for any type of advice and are almost assured of getting good replies. As long as you are polite and helpful, you’ll be able to share and receive wisdom here. But it is bound to be more generic in nature, and if you have a specific issue, try these other subreddits:
- r/DecidingToBeBetter: If self-improvement is your goal, this is the place to find wisdom from other seekers.
- r/relationship_advice: Romance, family, friendships, or co-workers, you’ll find all advice for every type of relationship here.
- r/AskWomenAdvice: For women-centric problems, answered by women.
- r/internetParents: Ask the internet’s moms and dads about things that your parents never taught you.
Don’t Forget YouTube
Depending on the situation you find yourself in, there’s something for everyone in this list. Passive advice seekers can use the guides and podcasts, while active advice seekers can do questions and answers on the community-based sites.
You don’t need to rely on written advice alone. There are some excellent YouTube channels for self-improvement and motivation, which often double up as general life advisors.
Read the full article: 5+ No Nonsense Sites to Get Life Advice and Grow as a Person
