How Do I Know What Advice I Should Follow?

When it comes to advice, I’ll frequently hear or read something that to me is inspirational and sounds like something I should remember.

It might give me a spark of motivation, but soon after, I’ve already forgotten the advice because it helped me only in the moment.

I’ve practiced learning and applying all the useful advice I hear, but it can be hard to recall it at the time it is needed. Here’s a few things I do to keep what I consider good advice near the front of my brain.

First comes taking in all advice you hear. Whether it be from professors, mentors, or parents. If it affects you the way you want it to, that advice is good advice.

You might at first be picking your favorites, what sounds good or who said what might be the biggest impact on your favorite quotes. But eventually you’ll learn the ones that give you a different outlook and come back to you frequently is the advice you were meant to hear.

If you’re looking for advice, it’s quite easy to get. A lot of people fear that asking someone that they admire for advice would be relatively impossible if for example, he or she may be famous and get lots of fan letters so they fear there will be no response.

I’m not saying it’s ok to bother people, but when it comes to seeking advice, most everyone loves giving out helpful tips. If someone asked you for advice, you wouldn’t feel annoyed by that question, would you?

Especially in today’s world and the ample amount of social media we have, reaching someone you wouldn’t normally be able to talk to is quite easy and a reply is fairly possible.

That’s not to say that all advice comes from someone who is well known in their field. Some of the best advice I’ve ever received has been from my parents, and that’s analogous for most people.

However, if you’re seeking new advice from a different perspective that you normally don’t have access to, don’t be hesitant to ask the professionals. They are proficient in their field for a reason and if they aren’t pessimistic toward other people, they would love to help someone interested in their shared passion.

I used to have a problem attempting to avoid an awkward confrontation or an awkward moment and would do whatever I could to either get out of it or prevent it.

One of my friends, who was in a theatre class, was practicing his lines for a performance that he was in toward the end of the semester. A group of us was near him just talking to each other, but he was off to the side and talking to himself.

I asked him, “You’re over here talking to yourself, doesn’t that feel a bit awkward?”. Of course I was in highschool and paranoid of what people thought of me, so I felt as rude as this question might come off, maybe I was helping him realize that what he was doing was weird, at least to me.

He responded very confidently, “It’s only awkward if you make it awkward” and a lot of people already know that versions of this quote exist and is stated quite often, but this was the first time I heard it.

That stopped me dead on and I knew that what he said made sense and in the back of my mind I knew it, but he was applying it right in front of me. He continued to practice his lines and after he started again, somehow it wasn’t awkward anymore.

The quote sticks with me not only because it’s a good way for people like me to stop fearing being awkward, but when I think of memorable quotes, this is one of the first things I think of because of how it had an immediate impact on me.

What I hope this story accomplishes, is the advice that might change you the most, won’t be hard to remember. But what you feel should change the way you live, might be hard to keep inside your head which is where it gets tricky.

This last bit may sound a little strange, but I’ve had a lot of success and motivation from quotes or advice I’ve come up with myself.

I listen to myself and what I have to say, and review what I need to do or what I need to keep on my mind.

I’ll oftentimes reach into the future about something giving me anxiety, think over it enough to where I start to realize, “as long as I can do this one thing and focus on one task at a time, i’ll be fine”.

Although that’s vague to the point I’m trying to make, it’s about giving yourself some words to fall back onto to keep yourself calm and motivated.

Some of the best advice comes from people just speaking their mind and how they perceive a certain situation, so why shouldn’t you be able to come up with your own?

Another one of my friends mentioned to me when talking about persuading someone to buying something, “You have to believe your own bullshit before anyone else will”.

Again there is variations to that, but quotes like that, which are just part of conversation and someone attempting to make a point, can really be what sticks with you and gives you the perspective you need.

Not all advice is good advice. But if it has an impact on you in a way that you feel empowers you, it’s advice you should keep close. Listen to what everyone has to say and pinpoint and save the things that you feel have the most meaning.

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