On Self-Help Books and Advice and My Dad

I also said in that post last week that I'd address how I tackle self-help books/instructional guides/how-tos.

The short version is that I treat them as speed limits - they're just suggestions and you have to figure out what works for you. Ha! But, really, in most cases, the material you're reading or listening to is describing a method that works for someone. Maybe for many someones. You've got to adapt that to your situation. If a program says you have to journal every morning but you find you do better at night? Do it at night. If a recipe calls for pecans but you prefer walnuts? Use the walnuts. There are times when it's appropriate to follow a method exactly (brain surgery or working with electricity maybe) but that's not what we're talking about here.

My dad has shared with me two really great bits of wisdom. First, it's a good idea to ask many people for their advice - and then you think about it all and do what you want. Second, just because a decision seems wrong to you doesn't mean it's wrong for someone else. Pretty good stuff, huh? My dad's a good guy. He also told me to never travel without TUMS but that's not as relevant here.

I don't take every bit of advice I'm given. But it's great to seek answers and new ideas and other viewpoints. So many times, someone has pointed out an issue or possible solution that hadn't occurred to me. Then we assimilate that information into our own little world and do with it what we may.

So really this post is mostly about nothing but since I said I'd write about it and then I took the trouble to draft it, I figured I'd go ahead and publish it. And since it's my blog, that's what I'm going to do.