Heeding other's advice...
This is something that's been on my mind, especially recently. There is a lot of information out there, and many people want to share their advice and experience, which has helped me greatly get to where I am today! The problem is, what do you do with that information? What do you do when multiple people give you different pieces of advice that conflict?
These are some of the questions I'm still trying to answer, and I understand it pretty well on a logical level, but not deep within me. So, from what I've heard and practiced. When receiving advice for where you should go, there are a few things I need to keep in mind while considering how much to follow.
Who is giving you the advice? Ensure that the person you're getting advice from is knowledgeable on your topic and has a decent understanding of where you are at. In many situations, I've found myself when asking others' advice, and they may be knowledgeable in the subject and give great advice but don't fully understand where I am at, so it may not be the best for me. Alternatively, they may know you very well, but not the topic you want advice on, and so you may get great personal insight, but not on the side you're looking to go into.
What will you do with the advice you've been given? This is a big question, and one not so easy to answer. We would take and apply all relevant advice in a perfect world, but finding out what's relevant is a difficult matter. There could be just different opinions given by two people, and either one would work great.
For the most part, I've found when asking for advice, whether you apply it or not, do your due diligence, and thank them for it, and repeat back to them a summarized version, letting them know that you understand it and will take it into account.
Key takeaways:
1) Heed other's advice, but don't necessarily apply it just because it was given
2) Be sure, whoever you are asking advice from, has a good picture of the scenario
3) You can't apply all suggestions, so use your own discernment when deciding what to do
4) Give gratitude for the advice, whatever it be, and summarize and repeat it back to them, showing that you understand it.