Can you think of a time when you faced a tough decision and were unsure of the proper course? When posed with two different options and can only choose one, how do you sort out the best way to go? I believe that the first step is to recognize the value in seeking council. This is natural, isn’t it? To tell people around what’s going on in your life in order to hear their perspective? But all too often, I think we apply this good principle of seeking council in a way that may actually hinder us.
What to Do?
Let’s take a common and tangible example of a difficult decision. Imagine that you own and drive a car that is near the end of its life and not worth too much. One morning when you attempt to start the car, you get some scary noises and a whole lot of white smoke. Later that day you get the call from your mechanic: you need a between $800 and $1,500 of work done. Now, you’re not sure that your car is worth much more than $2,500 once it’s all fixed, and you’re not sure if it’s worth it to pay for the repairs or not.
Seeking Feedback
What would you do in this situation? If you’re like most people, you’d probably tell your car story to the nearest 10 people who’ll listen. Invariably, many of these people will offer advice, and certainly it will be well intentioned. If you’re thinking of the principle mentioned above, that gaining the perspective of others can be valuable in making decisions, you’re probably happy to get all the feedback. But there’s one key issue we’ve skipped over that makes the difference between the advice you get yielding you a good situation or a problem on top of your problem.
Qualifications test
The key is the determination of adviser qualification. Or, put more simply, does the person offering advice know what he’s talking about? Take a basic idea like the following for instance. Taking financial advice from broke people is unwise. Think about that for a second. Now try this one: taking marriage advice from a person with an unhealthy marriage is unwise. Seriously, think about it!
Now, while this may seem so simple and obvious, it’s been my experience (personally, I assure you, as well as by watching others do this) that we often fail to apply such a basic filter before giving people’s suggestions credibility. Our car repair example above is quite a common case of this illogical behavior. One will ask everyone around him what to do about the car, and he’ll hear many people say, “oh, just trade it in and get a new car! You’ll save the money on repairs, and paying a little interest is no big deal. In fact, have you considered a lease? Then you could have a really cool car right now!” All too often, we’ll not only accept these ideas, but will actually factor them into our decision making process and let them influence our choice. But what is the financial position of the advisers here? Do they own their own cars? Do they have an effective budgeting system in place and are they on track for retirement? Often, No! They do not!
To Become a Winner, Follow Winners
So, here’s the bottom line. Does the person offering advice have what I want? If it’s financial advice I’m seeking, do they have a financial life that I’d like to have? If it’s spiritual advice, so they have the walk with the Lord that I want? If it’s fitness and nutrition advice, do they have the physique and energy levels I want? Run your advisers through this simple filter first, and you’ve avoid many behaviors that lead to the terrible place called average.