Listening to Advice

There are times when we need to seek the counsel of others. Sometimes a problem is too big for us to deal with alone or we do not trust our own opinion. In these cases a voice from outside, even if it says the same thing the internal voice says can help to clear the fog.

When we seek out the advice of those we trust we have to be prepared to listen. There is no point in seeking advice then discarding it when it is not what we want to hear. When we go to people looking for advice but expecting an answer we want to hear, we do so trusting in their wisdom. Their wisdom is not less when they do not agree with us. We must give their dissent the same respect we would have given their agreement.

This is not to say that we should blindly follow their advice, but instead that we should consider their position before we act on it or reject it. The value in asking for advice is not in finding agreement, though this can help to confirm and give us confidence in our actions; instead it may be in hearing a different point of view and seeing a different line of reasoning.

The editing project: Reclaiming the battle field