Inspired by Kats blog I have decided to write out all 15 of Olivia's rules for living for humour value and because alot of them make some sense! (Impressive if like me you know the book and Olivia's personality!) If you haven't read the book (Olivia Joules and her Overactive imagination by Helen Fielding) I suggest you do, I really like it and feel I have alot in common with Olivia - mainly her overactive imagination, which my family will no doubt agree with.So without further waffle, here are the rules for living...Olivia style!
1. Never panic. Stop, breathe, think.
2. No one is thinking about you. They're thinking about themselves, just like you.
3. Never change haircut or color before an important event.
4. Nothing is either as bad or as good as it seems.
5. Do as you would be done by, eg. thou shall not kill.
6. It is better to buy one expensive thing that you really like than several cheap ones that you only quite like.
7. Hardly anything matters: if you get upset, ask yourself, "Does it really matter?"
8: The key to success lies in how you pick yourself up from failure.
9. Be kind and honest.
10. Only buy clothes that make you feel like doing a small dance.
11. Trust your instincts (not your overactive imagination).
12. When overwhelmed by disaster, check if it's really a disaster by doing the following: a) think, "Oh, fuck it," (b) look on the bright side, and if that doesn't work, look on the funny side. (If niether of the above works then mabybe it is a disaster so turn to items 1 and 4.)
13. Don't expect the world to be safe or life to be fair.
14. Sometimes you just have to go with the flow.
15. Don't regret anything. Remember there wasn't anything else that could have happened, given who you were and the state of the world at that moment. The only think you can change is the present, so learn from the past.
I don't necessarily agree with all of those, she is a bit pesimistic at times Olivia, but all round I like that list, even just for the humor factor!
Ffi xxx
