Leslie Knope may well be the kindest, best-intentioned, most enthusiastic government employee to ever grace the small screen - and Parks and Recreation fans love her for it. While she is often misguided, she is always trying to help people, whether that means her friends, her colleagues, her town, or just someone that she happened to meet that day. And she believes, truly, that she always knows what to do.
All of which means that Leslie loves to give advice - sometimes directly, sometimes by example, sometimes in a massive binder of color-coded career goals and expectations. But while all of her advice is meant with a huge helping of love, not all of it is actually appropriate, or welcome.
Worst: Only Ever Eat Breakfast Food
Basically any advice that Leslie gives around food should be ignored, as she has a shockingly unhealthy diet (as do most of the citizens of Pawnee). She's particularly obsessed with breakfast food, especially waffles that are hidden under a mound of whipped cream. She even talks to Ron about how she just can't understand people who eat anything other than breakfast food! But this is definitely a perspective that should be ignored. Vegetables are important.
Best: It's Ok To Be Inspired By Yourself
Leslie makes no secret of the fact that she tries incredibly hard, and that she's proud of herself - and while that may seem like it's a bit narcissistic on the surface, it's actually incredibly good advice.
Rather than waiting to have other people give her approval, or needing to look outside herself to know what to do, Leslie has an incredibly solid sense of self, and trusts her instincts. It's actually one of her more endearing traits, in the end.
Worst: Winning is everything
Leslie absolutely loves to win, and has a huge competitive streak - and this is absolutely not one of her more endearing traits. In fact, this is probably one of her worst characteristics, and often gets her into awkward situations. She can become so obsessed with winning that she even loses sight of the point of what she is doing. Competition can be healthy, but winning is most definitely not everything.
Best: Always Be Honest (Scrupulously So)
Leslie is a woman of her word. She's so scrupulously honest that she even submits herself for ethics hearings, where no one else thinks she has done anything wrong, but she insists on making sure. She once accepts a luxury hamper as a bribe, in an attempt to fit in with the guys at the office, and is absolutely wracked with guilt after. Sometimes she may take things too far, but it's better to be too ethical and honest than to do the opposite!
Worst: Sugar Is A Substitute For Sleep
More terrible health advice from Leslie, as she decides to stay up all night before an all-night telethon, and balance out the resulting exhaustion with sugar. Of course, the Sweetums factory doesn't help, keeping the town supplied with 'energy bars' that are essentially pure sugar, but this is all Leslie.
She has a habit of overdoing it on junk food and caffeine when she is stressed or tired, and while this may create a short-time boost, it's hardly a healthy solution.
Best: One person's annoying is another's inspiring and heroic
This might seem like advice encouraging people to be annoying, but it's actually much more than that. As usual, Leslie is right here to encourage anyone who has a dream to keep pursuing it, despite the fact that they will face some opposition. And even when some people will find the pursuit of that dream irritating, it's not a reason to stop.
Worst: Force Friendship on People
Leslie has a pretty intense idea of what friendship means, and tends to simply decide that she will be friends with someone, and then pursue them relentlessly until they submit. This works out fairly well for her in the show, as it's how she builds her friendship with Ann, and how she connects with many of the people she works with, but in real life, this is essentially harassment.
Best: People Who Are Yelling Are Caring Loudly
One of the best things about Leslie is her eternal optimism, and her never-ending patience with the people of Pawnee, despite the fact that they are hilariously unreasonable. However, she puts a spin on her community's exhausting demands and tendency to get upset by reminding herself that it's just because they really, really care. Of course, this doesn't make it ok for someone to yell at another person, and it's not appropriate to go full Leslie and take this kind of verbal abuse with a smile, but remembering that people are emotionally invested in the things they are upset about is actually useful perspective.
Worst: Guys love it when you can show them you’re better than they are at something they love
This is hilariously bad advice - which is, of course, the point. Leslie is well-intentioned, but incredibly clueless, and when she invites herself and the team on a hunting trip, she thinks it will actually endear her to Ron and the other hunters if she can show them up. In reality, of course, most people would dislike having someone show off about how good they are at a favorite hobby (gender notwithstanding), and it would be better to connect than compete.
Best: Love And Like Your Partner
Leslie and Ben are truly adorable, and their wedding episode is one of the best (and most tear-jerking) in the series. But the vows are what really stand out, when Leslie tells her new husband 'I love you and I like you'. While this may not be direct advice, finding a partner that you don't just love, but also like, is some of the best advice to come out of the series.