most advice is bad advice...

so a buddy posted a link to a blog i don't normally read because he liked the entry.  the entry is about how most advice given is bad advice.  it's a pretty short read, succinct and to the point.  in general advice is crap and you should discard it or sometimes advice is good and you should follow it.  kinda obvious when i distil it down to that level.  but the blog post did accomplish the most important thing about blog posts, in my opinion, it made me think.  (i hope mine does the same for my readers on occasion)

So here's my two cents on the matter (i do miss the cents key on computer keyboards).  You should never wholesale ignore any advice given.  nor should you wholesale follow any.  I believe you should treat advice much the same way as one should treat a tarot card reading or your horoscope.

OK, that's a little hard to accept given what most of us do with such blather.  Rather, you should take from it the same benefit that such 'readings' give to people who listen.  As with any good psychic reading, what should happen is the readee (is that a term?) should listen to the generalizations and begin to talk through ways that they relate to their own life.  As they go through this process of relating they hopefully make a breakthrough or revelation about their problem.  Either they understand it better, see it from a completely different angle or just get a handle on it that they couldn't previously attain.  In theory, this then helps them deal with the issue.  Now because most humans are incapable of growth on demand and because 'readings' aren't the best way to attain higher levels of existence  and people listening to readings aren't the most likely to move forward in such a manner...well you get my point.

However, the process is fascinating none-the-less.  The reason that readings are so successful is that they trick you into thinking that the revelations that you've made yourself were initiated by the 'spirits' or whatever.   Watching people go through this process is amazing.  It takes something that you could talk yourself blue in the face in trying to get them to see to little or no effect and instead leads them into finding it on their own.  It's as if they have invented science their discovery feels so brilliant.

This, my friends, is how you should treat advice.  Don't automatically discount it, don't throw it away out of hand, listen to it.  Think about it.  Find a way for it to relate to your own situation so you can understand that situation better.  That other person doesn't really understand you or what you're dealing with but what they do have is an alternate view if what you're into and an varied life experience from yourself.  It doesn't matter that their advice is most likely wrong, what it is is a kick-off point to your finding a new way of realizing your own situation.

All that said, it's really hard not to simply ignore people's advice, no matter how well intentioned.