When you have a problem, it seems like everyone has a solution. If you’re on the receiving end of advice, ask the person about their success (or failure) with the suggestions they’re giving.
Photo by Brendan Riley.
Obviously, you don’t want to be rude (“How did it work for you?” is more polite than “Oh, yeah? Prove it.”), but asking about their situation allows you to separate hard-earned experience from idle guesses. As business blog Inc points out, it also allows you to learn more about their perspective and figure things out for yourself:
This simple change uncovers the usually hidden backstory of your advisors’ opinions and also allows you, as the listener, to benefit from their experience by drawing your own conclusions rather than feeling bullied of overwhelmed by their recommendations.
Ideally, you’ll get the best advice from those who have already achieved what you want in life. Unfortunately, there are people out there who love to help but are barely able. By diving into the stories behind some advice, you may be able to separate the wheat from the cliché analogies and platitudes.
Drowning In Advice? 3 Tricks to Sort the Good From the Bad [Inc.]
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