I’ve been recently thinking about the advice people have given me over the years.
What I’ve come to notice is that there isn’t much advice that has stuck with me for a long time (let’s say a year or more).
In fact, it took me almost an hour to write down four pieces of advice that I can concretely remember people giving me.
And that’s not because I don’t get a lot of advice.
I’m constantly getting advice from books, mentors, peers, family, and friends (for which I’m very grateful).
The advice I listen to typically has some kind of measurable effect on my life… at least for a week or two.
I used to get frustrated that I would receive so much useful advice but only a small fraction would turn into things I would continually remember and live by.
Fortunately, I have changed my mindset around the longevity of advice.
The truth is, a lot of advice is given in direct response to something happening.
Because of this, holding on to advice that is no longer relevant doesn’t make sense.
It’s also a great way to weed out advice that is initially exciting but isn’t fit for the long-term.
So now my approach to advice is this:
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Take good advice and implement it in my life for a week or two.
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If it naturally doesn’t stick, forget it.
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In the rare but awesome case it significantly impacts the way I think/live then I will probably remember it without much effort.
This new “framework” has allowed me to welcome new advice without fretting over whether it will stick in the future or not.
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