Last week, Eva Mendes, the actress, made an off-the-cuff remark about how sweat pants were responsible for most of the divorces in the United States. She was joking of course, but a lot of people got riled up about her statement. About the idea that someone can’t wear what they want in their homes, or in their relationships. How it sounded superficial and silly. There were a lot of women annoyed by flippant advice given by someone who makes their money being beautiful and has more resources than most women would know what to do with. And while I think that it is a comment that didn’t quite deserve the amount of attention it received, there are some words of wisdom lurking around in her response. Whether or not you would choose to listen to them… that is another story.

There are always people willing to dole out “good advice” for any type of situation. My 95-year old grandmother is notorious for giving me marital advice that generally sounds like it is 40 years past its prime. I’m sure my grandma would completely agree with Eva Mendes about the idea that you shouldn’t “let yourself go” with your significant other. There are times my grandma pops off with a piece of advice, and my instant reaction is to bristle or reject it out of hand as being old-school or not with the times. I tend to think that she doesn’t understand how things work in the 21st century. But when I really stop to think about it, there are some good messages in what she has to say, even if it seems completely outdated. Do I choose to listen to her words of wisdom? Usually. I listen to the deeper message, subtracting the old-fashioned imagery, and then I see how it applies to my life now.

In the online world we’ve all grown accustomed to, we see/hear so many different opinions all day every day. It can be overwhelming. So my little piece of advice? Don’t let it get to you. Take what is useful to you, and let the rest of it go. Even in the scrapbook world, we can end up feeling like we aren’t doing everything “perfectly” when we read about how someone has the perfect formula for catching up on Project Life, an amazing process for dropshadows, killer tips on how to shoot *the best* photos of your kids, or a must-follow workflow in Lightroom. We can spend so much time trying to follow the advice of other scrappers, we might lose sight of what we originally set out to do… capture and preserve our memories and stories (and/or create artistic expressions of them).

Here are some bits of advice/wisdom that I’ve been mulling over lately.

See? So much advice and/or wisdom. And none of it has specifically to do with scrapbooking (haha). But seriously, make it easy for yourself. When faced with advice or words of wisdom, listen with an open mind and filter out what isn’t practical for you and your life. Take in bits of wisdom where you find them, and let the rest of it go. Wear sweat pants or not, but focus on what is really important in your relationships and your craft. Be present and focus on what matters to you.

Don’t forget to head over to the Challenge Forum where a new challenge will go up today. You will create a page using a quote/piece of advice.

About the Author: Kimberlee is a lover not a fighter; a stay-at-home gran, a poet, and a lifelong learner. She grooves on saturated colors, Tuesday dance parties, optimism, glitter and sunshine. She colors outside the lines.  She is a dreamer. She is a collector of moments.  She is all about the story.  Kimberlee completed her MFA in Creative Writing and is currently working toward a M.Ed. in Instructional Design.