Taking advice from other people, be they influential or not, is a way of showing respect and the ability to listen to others experience. It can often lead to you taking on new habits and abilities that you never knew existed. It’s only when we are being introduced to something that we realize – hey, this might actually work!
We’re often indecisive and naive about certain things, for the simple fact that we haven’t have had enough experience with the particular problem. This is where advice comes in. It can come in any form really. I find that I’ve got people in my life that are able to give me advice on business and life related matters, it could be something completely different for you. Who are the people you look up to when you need advice?
Taking advice is the same as tasting the cake for the first time – you’re only tasting, not taking the full bite – as the celebrations haven’t begun yet. Though, once they are in full effect we can take the cake and eat it as a whole. It’s the same in business or any other area of your life, sometimes you need to taste something that others have had a full bite of – and see what they thought of it.
In the following four sub-headlines, I’d like to discuss and go over the simple factors for taking and utilizing advice. It’s definitely a great way of getting a glimpse of something, but always keep in mind that real experience will differ to each of us.
Knowing What You Need Help With
You cannot get advice for something, unless you need direct help and you’ve identified with it. This happens, most of the time, very naturally. We could be talking with our friends over a cup of tea – and suddenly the topics start to change, and perhaps we throw in a problem or two in the discussion.
It so happens that our friends have been in a similar situation, and are able to advise us to make the right choices.
At this point, we’ve not only justified our problem, we’ve received advice – which we can act upon if we wish to do so. In most cases, we will judge mentally if it is something we’d want to do.
You need to understand that taking advice is not the same as going out there and doing the set thing – you can get scared away, more so than you have been already.
Asking for Advice
Make the act of asking for advice conscious. This way, you’re going to show that you’ve chosen the specific person on purpose and that you believe he or she can give you the right advice. This form of asking advice is pretty common and works very well for both parties.
You’re ideally asking someone very close to you, about a subject that both of you know and have interest in.
I’ve found that often, to my expectation – the advice I receive is far from what I had expected originally. This is because the people we look up to, have actually gone through the experience and have learned invaluable lessons.
It’s the cold hard truth that we should hear, not the easy way around.
Make it your goal to always ask for advice consciously and with awareness. Make it clear that you are not going to procrastinate, and you’ll see that it all works out in the end.
Taking the Advice
Well, it can go as far as having doubts and your own beliefs coming into play. We’re only getting the better part of the bargain in this situation, to completely close the issue – we need to take the advice and act upon it.
We asked for it, didn’t we?
I ask for advice rarely, as I believe in my own ability to learn and explore. When I do ask for advice from someone I know, it’s usually serious and I take it just as seriously to consider and act upon that what I’ve been told.
I wouldn’t ask for advice on something, from someone who doesn’t have a clue what he is talking about, I suggest you do the same thing.
Trying, Understanding, Moving On
We’ve now learned how-to take advice and how-to accept that what we need help with. We can now move on to the last part and put everything to the test. This is basically a stage where you’ve put everything away – left behind the whole concept of taking advice.
You’ve now got two choices:
- Take the Advice.
- Leave the Advice.
Whichever you choose, it’s going to be a different experience either way. I’d say that often we, as people, take advice from others but fail to believe in it, because we still need that extra proof that frankly cannot exist without us ever trying to step over that which we find too high.