Suppose, you deeply admire something and you want to attain that level. So, you read a book written by a person who already sitting at that point. After reading the book you felt that this is the best advice you have heard so far. You felt happy that you found a way or solution to your problems.
But days later you discover that there is another person in the same position which you want to attain, but giving you another piece of advice. This advice is completely opposite of what you’ve read before in that book.
Now you are standing at the crossroad where both people are in the same position giving you contradictory advice to make you reach that point.
What will be your next step? How do you know what works best for you? It’ll be really confusing. Right?
Maybe not yet but you’ll definitely come across some contradictory advice in your lifetime or perhaps you already did.
Take an example of very common advice of ‘Work Hard‘ and ‘Work Smart‘. Both pieces of advice work differently for different people. Nonetheless, both are useful. It depends on the situation of a person. If a person is already under a ton of workload then ‘Work Smart’ is a bit of good advice for him, but ‘Work Hard’ might be bad.
The whole concentration lies in the perspective and circumstances of seeing things.
Advice or Ideas may resonate with one person while it might not make sense to others until the right time comes.
Likewise, the advice of ‘Thousands of people can’t be wrong‘ might work for the people who have little knowledge about certain things and for the low-ability people who do not possess the skills needed to recognize their own incompetence or lack of knowledge.
However, this advice doesn’t make sense at all for intelligent people and for people with exceptional qualities.
But, the advice of “It’s better to walk alone in the right direction than to follow the herd walking in the wrong direction” might apply to them which is completely opposite of the advice that I quoted before.
Now, if you’re thinking between these two pieces of advice which one you must follow, then before that you must want to know- Are you Smart or Dumb?
(PS:- It’s going to be the unexpected twist. Make sure to read this article)
Advice Offers Perspective
We all have our own experiences and situations and drawing a piece of advice from that life experience is good.
Fortunately, we all are unique and at different stages of life and require different solutions. However, It’s good to listen to advice as they are offering perspective.
But even so, you must remember that a person can give advice according to their own experiences and knowledge but it is not necessary that the same advice or path works for you too. It’s up to you to identify as people will recommend the one that has done well for them.
This may be the same reason why you should not trust proverbs and idioms blindly.
Let’s take another example, If you’re advising a poor man or a middle-class man, who are by the way struggling daily to earn a living for himself and his family that ‘Money can’t buy you happiness‘ then it might not look true and maybe doesn’t apply to them at all, since they are unhappy or depressed due to lack of money itself.
Yet, it truly makes sense for the people who are depressed just because they can’t buy happiness from the money they hold.
These are highly generalized statements that are based on a specific situation. It all depends on the stage of life in which you are currently at.
And if you believe that the advice you received isn’t for you or isn’t favourable to your current situation then just dismiss it there and go ahead. The more advice you have, the more perspective you’ll get to decide.
Listen and learn from other experiences but always come back to the context you are living in. Always be genuine. Always ask yourself if it is going to work for you or not. That’s how you’ll find a balance that is unique to each person and each situation.
But Why You Should Not Dismiss Advice Completely?
People grow, change and attain new knowledge. Life keeps changing. Strangely day by day everything looks the same, but the time you look back everything is different. Your situation and perception might not be the same throughout your life.
Therefore, the advice that hasn’t been applied to you yet could apply to you later.
You cannot use the same idea all the time, similarly, the advice that works for you today might not necessarily work the same way in the future too.
So, use advice when it’s useful to you. Someone said it right- ‘Ideas are like tools‘, you use them when they are needed. This line says it all. Apart from that always stay open to new information and experiences.
To wrap things up, the answer is straightforward – different situations need different solutions. There is no straightforward answer to dealing with challenges.
It may be possible that it all sounds like a very obvious thing to you, but as it is said ‘Don’t underestimate the significance of obvious things.’ because mistakes are often made out of obvious things.
And, thank you so much for taking the time to read this. I would like to know have you ever been in any situation where you had two contradictory pieces of advice to reach the goal? If yes, how did you manage to choose the right one for you? Join the Comments.
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January 24, 2021 at 1:07 pm
There are so many sides, that’s why we a complex individuals.
January 24, 2021 at 2:38 pm
Yes, Absolutely.
January 24, 2021 at 1:30 pm
That’s a wise all-round article. Great post. I love it!
January 24, 2021 at 2:39 pm
Thankyou so much. I’m glad you loved it.
January 24, 2021 at 1:50 pm
It is a great post and I resonate a lot with it. You have put in a coherent manner on the usage of wisdom provided in the name of advice.
January 24, 2021 at 4:29 pm
Thankyou Hardik.
I’m glad you liked it.
January 24, 2021 at 3:11 pm
Absolutely! Get relative!
January 24, 2021 at 4:30 pm
Yes. And that’s the answer.
Thanks for reading.
January 24, 2021 at 9:31 pm
Very wise take 👏👏👏
January 24, 2021 at 9:42 pm
Thankyou Vani. 🙂
January 25, 2021 at 7:40 am
Well said. I’ve also often felt like much advice is overrated. So much of it is context-specific, and yet people are all too happy to offer their advice as timeless absolutes without providing any of the necessary context.
January 25, 2021 at 10:37 am
As I said, Advice offers Perspective.
But always come to back to the context you are yourself living in.
And Thanks for Reading.
January 25, 2021 at 5:42 pm
It does, but yes, the context is important.
January 25, 2021 at 6:54 pm
Yes. 🙂
January 25, 2021 at 9:43 am
♡ Acceptance of Resonation; and Our Respectful Rejecting of “Advice” that Doesn’t Resonate even if seems to make sense
…♡♡♡…
…♡♡♡…
January 25, 2021 at 10:35 am
Agreed. Well said.
January 25, 2021 at 10:58 am
Ritish, a very comprehensive post and a helpful perspective. <3 When I was in middle school, I started collecting proverbs. As I grew older, I added examples of opposite proverbs. I had figured out that they might all come in handy!
I usually ask several people for advice and then make up my own mind. Some people think if you have asked them for advice, you should follow their advice. Best not to ask them again!
Have a great week! 🙂
January 25, 2021 at 5:05 pm
Thankyou so much Cheryl. Absolutely true words.
As we started to grew older only then we realise the reality of the things.
And I’m pretty sure there is so many other misconception that I’m Believing right now which are still left to figure.
Thanks for reading and Have a great week to you too. 🙂
April 15, 2021 at 6:33 pm
Excellent read my friend.
Thank you.
It’s always nice to listen to the advices whether one follows or not and then decide.
Most of the times one is not sure whether the advice given really helps.
Even the parenteral advice sometimes misfires.
Added to this, one comes across contradicting advices as you rightly mentioned.
Ultimately the individual has to take the call.
Let not anybody blame the advice giver if things go wrong with the advice.
My feeling is not to give advice unasked.
If asked better to avoid politely.
And as far advices by sages ,saints, philosophers, learned scholars etc…..I feel it’s their perspective based on their life style.
It May or May not suit your type of situation.
Thanks again
April 15, 2021 at 7:47 pm
Exactly, that is what I’ve tried to portray here with examples.
It’s good to know you agreed.
Person can give advice according to their experience and knowledge. It may not resonate with you too. It depends on the situation and circumstances of seeing things.
But you should listen them, who know, it may helpful later in the future. As said advice are like tools.
April 15, 2021 at 7:40 pm
Love the way you covered the topic.
Very informative my friend.
Thank you
April 15, 2021 at 7:48 pm
Thank you, I really appreciate you taking the time to express that.
May 14, 2021 at 12:53 pm
Beautiful, beautiful 💛 would love to know who said these lines… thanks for sharing!
May 14, 2021 at 1:18 pm
Thankyou Aadya.
May 14, 2021 at 2:02 pm
😋
September 21, 2021 at 9:05 pm
Congratulation 🤩
I think you have completed 1000 followers
September 21, 2021 at 9:15 pm
Hey! Thanks Aparna.
Yes, we just get there. Thanks to all of you. ❣
Have a great week. Keep reading and writing.
September 21, 2021 at 9:16 pm
Welcome 🤩
It’s always my pleasure to read your work
Have a great week 😊
September 21, 2021 at 10:08 pm
Thanks for saying that
It mean so much to us 🙏🏻
September 21, 2021 at 9:17 pm
A fantastic, insightful write-up! I agree with your view that advices must be considered when they offer the giver’s perspective based on their experience, which may be wider than ours. Wise words throughout..
September 22, 2021 at 10:00 am
Thanks for the appreciation.
Glad to know you agree with me here.
The whole concept of advices are based on generalised statements which may or may not be the right for us to follow.
You got it right.
September 21, 2021 at 9:26 pm
Yes absolutely people often give advice on the experience of their life ,but those may not match with our life. But sometimes some advices help us some are not and I think time makes us realise which are useful for us. Very well written 😊👌🌹 thank you.
September 22, 2021 at 10:04 am
Yes, you’re right. Time do make us realize everything.
Thanks for agreeing with me here.
September 22, 2021 at 1:34 pm
☺️🤗💗❤️💖❣️ You are welcome. May God give you all happiness 🙂
September 22, 2021 at 3:27 pm
Thank-you so much.
Wishing you the same.
September 22, 2021 at 4:42 pm
😊🤗☺️😀😁🌹
September 22, 2021 at 12:14 am
Good advice. At least for now 😎
September 22, 2021 at 10:54 am
Yep. At the end, It’s too is an advice though.
So, up to you.
Thanks for the comment.
September 22, 2021 at 3:50 pm
Having a different perspective is okay unless it causes confusion to make a right decision!
September 22, 2021 at 7:57 pm
Perspectives are all about paradox. It’s general if it creates confusion.
Worked for one might not work the same for you.
And for the decision, it’s depends on the situations we are currently in.
Thanks for sharing your thoughts
September 22, 2021 at 5:11 pm
The older I get the clearer it seems that nothing is ever black or white, only grey. Leaving ones long term career is a choice many make. The logical advice is to choose security over uncertainty even if this makes you unhappy. But it depends. We might need the security if we have children for example. We can’t just think of our own happiness. Still, if you really are miserable then perhaps a leap of faith is necessary? Perhaps your happiness is other people’s happiness too? It’s very personal choice. Never black or white. I go with trusting your gut when it comes to big life decisions. But that doesn’t mean you need to leave a career straight away. One can work on a side hustle during their time off and then leave. Follow your heart but be smart about it is the advice I would give.
September 24, 2021 at 9:52 am
Wise advice. I agree with your point, often it is right to choose security over uncertainty. “The older I get the clearer it seems that nothing is ever black or white”
You’re so right about it. Even my next blog is somewhere around it, about the Goldilocks effect- ‘Neither too simple, nor too complex
Thanks for the comment.
September 24, 2021 at 8:39 pm
🙏
September 28, 2021 at 10:25 am
Love this
September 28, 2021 at 2:42 pm
Thanks
July 17, 2022 at 5:46 am
You always give us such good stuff to ponder, Ritish! 🌞
July 17, 2022 at 7:46 pm
Thanks for saying that Lisa. I’m so grateful you enjoyed my posts. 😃
February 16, 2023 at 11:00 pm
A great post and profound advice about advice!
February 17, 2023 at 11:57 am
Thanks, Annika. Glad you enjoyed the post. After all, it’s just advice too.
February 18, 2023 at 1:32 pm
So true!
February 18, 2023 at 10:31 pm
Thanks Helena