It’s in my best interest to recognize that some advice is bad advice. I get to that point by discerning wise advice, then heeding that advice.
This blog entry is made up of my daily posts on LinkedIn between July 12 and July 17, 2021. Topics covered include: life purpose, the learning process, mentoring, recognizing good advice, and the challenge of character change.
Can I truly understand my life purpose?
More importantly, can I do that before I’m 70?!
I believe clarity of life purpose is possible. However, I also believe critical factors in discovery include:
1). self-awareness,
2). deep reflection, and
3). the experiential insight that comes over time.
That said, what fuels the reflection process? To me, counsel from those more experienced is vital.
What else? For a person of faith, divine guidance is necessary, from prayer, scripture, and making sense of life events.
In short, clarity of life purpose is attainable. But, expect the process to demand time and effort.
How helpful have mentors been in helping you identify and pursue your life purpose?
Proverbs 16.3 says life purpose is settled, or fully-formed, after I commit to God my daily work efforts. I literally entrust to God the outcomes of my life work. In so doing, I receive back great clarity regarding my life mission.
Proverbs 15.22 observes that life purpose is aided greatly by intentionally seeking guidance from trusted counselors.
Slow down to learn!
Some brag about being quick learners.
But deep knowledge, I believe, is the result of time on task. That is, I don’t recognize nuances or see below the surface by rushing, but by reflecting. Slowly!
There certainly is a time to think fast, say in an emergency. But, most of life should not be panicked choices! If there’s no time to think slowly and deeply then my life is horribly out of balance.
To rebalance, I must consider my priorities and my commitments. For leaders, it’s recognizing that constantly responding to the immediate crisis leaves no time for the strategic – that which is ultimately important.
How have you escaped from the tyranny of the immediate?
In Proverbs 19.2 I’m warned about being in such a constant rush that I never uncover critical knowledge. That is, I choose speed of delivery over gathering and carefully considering key facts. In addition, Proverbs 19.2 uses the term “soul” indicating that taking time to learn nourishes my deepest inner self.
Being wise isn’t a solo activity!
Self-reflection is necessary for growth but not sufficient!
Why? Because I need wise counsel to fill the gaps and find blind spots. I don’t believe any of us are self-made.
Instead, we’re the product of inputs from many sources. We combine self-learning, and experiential insight, with counsel from competent and trusted advisors.
For leaders, this means asking for and then carefully considering opinions from multiple sources.
How have you escaped the self-made trap?
Proverbs 19.20 encourages us to “hear…receive” – that is to be teachable from outside sources. It also notes learning is a life-long process. And, according to Proverbs 19.20, being wise is directly proportional to my willingness to be corrected!
Some advice is bad advice!
No, not just from your friend in grade school!
Ok, how do I discern bad advice? Well, it’s bad if it’s false. That is, the advice doesn’t match what’s generally understood to be truthful by a rational person. So, verify your sources and do basic fact checking before buying into something.
More deeply, be discerning enough to consider motives and contexts. Thus, how biased is this source? What “water under the bridge” is impacting the perspective I’m hearing?
Leaders ask these basic questions. Don’t assume that all you are hearing is accurate, truthful, unbiased, or complete.
Take a breath. Take time to get the facts so you can make an informed decision.
How have you escaped the trap of considering bad advice?
Buying into rumor, conspiracies, lies – all forms of bad advice – is a destructive habit. So, don’t be that leader!
Proverbs 19.27 encourages me to stop listening to bad advice. It defines bad advice as that which leads me away from widely accepted standards of what’s factual.
Character change is slow!
I believe personal growth happens when I’m purposeful about it.
Also, when I honestly evaluate where I am compared to where I need to be!
Plus, I need precepts as the standard for measuring that growth.
So, intentionality, self-awareness, and right content produce personal and professional growth.
Ok, great. But how soon? My own experience tells me that character change is slow.
Why so? Because recognizing blind spots and problematic response patterns are just a start.
I must then be willing to try, then practice, more appropriate responses.
In short, it’s time consuming to change WHO I am, so expect growth to be a multi-year process.
Proverbs 21.1 compares the personal growth of a leader to changing the course of a river. Other than a flood or other natural disaster, the course of a river is a slow change. Therefore, I should expect my own character development to be on a similar time schedule.
Time demands and priorities!
Wise use of my available capacity means I must have the discernment to say NO to the non-essential.
Proverbs 3.1-2 teaches that capacity building is the result of balancing expectations (what I know) and execution (how effectively I apply what I know). As such, that balance helps keep me from the extremes of overwork or underperformance.
If you’re active on LinkedIn, please follow my posts there. Look me up at https://www.linkedin.com/in/dale-young-proverbs-for-professionals/
