Ylliks

Chris Guillebeau’s site The art of Non-Conformity is a site I like to visit. The articles contain useful information and the writing appeals to me. In his latest article Chris talks about the fact that people rarely want advice, but are looking for confirmation on their own views.

I fully agree with that because often when people ask me about specific advice I’ll ask them if they want the “Politically correct answer or the truth?” if I think they are just looking for confirmation. Otherwise I think it’s best to just tell the truth. But before I answer anything at all I try to get to the focal point of the question. I try to get as much info as possible by asking questions back to give them the most useful answer. But the question is if you should be asking for advice at all.

The important thing is asking yourself if you really need or want advice. If the answer to that is no (because you’re just looking for confirmation), you shouldn’t ask. If you are looking for real advice, it’s essential to have a group of people whose opinion you trust, who have your best interest in mind, are knowledgeable on the subject you want advice on and who will be honest if they really think it’s a bad idea.

If you take away one thing from the article it’s the part that says that advice is not the final saying. Getting points of view and advice is one thing, but making up your own mind and make your own decisions with the information at hand should always be your first priority.