Advice

Written by cycleguy on September 15th, 2014

I used to have expert advice. Sure…just ask me. πŸ™‚

I could tell you what you should do, when you should do it, and how you should do it.

Didn’t matter whether you asked for it or not. I was good about passing along (unsolicited) advice.

I can’t really remember when I “wised” up. How old I was. Who told me to “shut my mouth and listen for a change.”

As you know, there is both good and bad advice.

You gotta wonder who is giving some of the athletes advice on finances. I mean, it seems incredible to me that someone who has made multi-millions files for bankruptcy.

You gotta wonder who is giving them advice on how to conduct their lives, what to put into their body, how they can cheat the system.

You gotta wonder who is giving Justin Bieber Miley Cyrus these young singers and actors advice on how to live their lives. They are doing a terrible job.

You gotta wonder who is giving some of the young pastors advice on how to conduct their lives with dignity and respect for others.

Here is something I read:

“The tongue of the wise commends knowledge, but the mouths of fools pour out folly…The lips of the wise spread knowledge; not so the hearts of fools.” Pr.15:2,7

Now THAT is good advice!

Are you a giver of (unsolicited) advice? How well do you take advice from others? Do you say anything to anyone who hands down unwanted advice to you?Β 

 

22 Comments so far ↓

  1. Good subject, Bill. I’ve found that the older I get, the less I know.

    And people don’t usually want to hear our 2 cents, do they. They want to be heard and validated.

    Blessings to you!

  2. Daniel says:

    I have learned that sometimes the most sound and practical advice can result in resentment from those you give it to when they really just want you to listen. I wish I figured this one out long before I did.

    • Zee says:

      Heh, yeah. At least (I think) for women. There are times when we just want you guys to listen because we need to “purge” that stuff from our minds and forget about it. While we enjoy the fact that you are strong and smart and can do a million things… sometimes all we need is an attentive ear, not a solution to the problem.

      • cycleguy says:

        Oh yeah Zee! Pull out the woman card! Poor Sam. You have already learned to use early on. πŸ™‚

        • Zee says:

          πŸ˜› I’m just sayin’…

          But yeah, we already had that conversation with Sam πŸ˜€ But I figured that the sooner we talk things through, the easier it would be along the way. And I try to understand his ways as well because for me, who grew up in an all-women environment, all men stuff is pretty much new.

          • cycleguy says:

            Actually, I was joking but also semi-serious. Glad you two have already talked about this. So glad to hear you have taken the time to hear it from Sam’s side as well. You guys are going to be ok.

  3. the Old Adam says:

    I sort of take advice the same way that I respond to the 10 Commandments;

    Good ideas…but I usually do what I want to do instead.

  4. Zee says:

    Are you a giver of (unsolicited) advice? – sometimes. But for some reason people want advice from me… even though I don’t like to give it.

    How well do you take advice from others? – depends on whether I trust / respect that person… and if they know what they are talking about. For example, I would not listen to advice on how to raise kids properly from someone who doesn’t have kids. Or from someone who tells me that Potter is wrong even though they haven’t read it (I’m not talking about you, there were a few people who criticized me for reading Potter)…

    Do you say anything to anyone who hands down unwanted advice to you? – mostly I listen and do as I think best. However, perhaps the advice is unwanted, but there may be truth in it anyway, so I always try to listen. (And even if I tell them I’ll never do it, there is a possibility that I might actually do what they told me…)

    • cycleguy says:

      If you want my opinion Zee…

      i agree. Trust and respect go a long way.

      I wish I could say I listen more than I speak. That would be a lie. πŸ™‚

  5. Jeff says:

    I look for expert opinion if I need to fix my car, have a medical problem, want to buy an electronic product or a variety of other things. I don’t really know anyone that gives unsolicited advice. That’s not cool.

  6. David says:

    As an introvert, I’m not even prone to starting a conversation let alone doling out my own “expert” unsolicited advice.

    Taking (listening to) someone’s advice and actually doing it are two different things. I’m pretty good at the listening part … doing? … not so much. I’m kind of like the old Adam in that regard.

    I usually won’t say much to someone giving me their advice on something I wasn’t seeking their opinion for. But at the same time, I won’t listen as well either which ultimately leads to me being even less likely to DO anything with that unsolicited advice …

    • cycleguy says:

      Unfortunately, as an extrovert I say too much sometimes. I have had to learn to keep quiet and listen. Sometimes I wish I were more like you. But I do react the same way you do when it is given.

    • Zee says:

      David – I know what you’re talking about when you say you’re “not even prone to starting a conversation.” Most of the time, it’s okay, but it does cause trouble at times.

  7. floyd says:

    I love Proverbs… I too was once an expert on all matters of life. Then I started seeking true wisdom and realized I’d been a fool. Seeking to understand God and others is the mark of humility; you know, that thing that happens after we get up and dust ourselves off from the vicious fall from the mountain of pride.

  8. Hi Bill,

    I’m trying to ask questions and listen a lot more than I used to. πŸ™‚

    Re your comment on my post “Hidden Beneath the Hubbub and Silence,” ….Oh Bill, I am so sorry about what your daughter is going through. Words fail, don’t they? May she hear God’s whispers about her true beauty, worth, and value from our Artist God. Oftentimes that is what we women mistakenly entangle up with the men in our lives.

    Sad with you tonight, friend,
    Jennifer Dougan
    http://www.jenniferdougan.com

  9. Betty Draper says:

    Dealing right now with someone who I was not slow to speak and quick to hear. I have picked myself up off the floor and pray I will be more sensitive the next time. I know I will never arrive at being perfect at this here on this earth but I sure seek to have longer stretches of time from the last time I walked in pride to the next time. I am sorry, will you forgive me covers a multitude of mess ups. Good post brother.

  10. I used to more than I do now. I work at not doing it now.

  11. Ed says:

    I posted some unsolicited advice today on facebook about forgiveness, because I know at least two people who hold not only unforgiveness but grudges against their parents. I can easily accept advice from others, but putting it into practice is the hard part