Advice

What do you think about advice? Do you like it? Do you listen to it? Do you follow it?

I was thinking about advice one day while I worked on a piece of equipment, and realized that over the years, I have received some advice that has become universally applicable, even though it was given for a specific purpose (Don’t you love the word applicable? It’s one of those fun mouth words.)

Three pieces of universally applicable advice:

1. Accentuate the positive – This one’s from Mom. She gave it to me as guidance for choosing flattering clothes, but really, when you think about it, it’s a good life policy. Anita, from our church, has this policy. When she speaks to a clerk in the store, or someone in the park, for example, she will find one good, complimentary thing to say to that person. It’s a good way to live. There is almost always something good that can be pointed out to the person standing in front of you. When we continually spend our time searching for the good, we are more likely to avoid the traps of judgmental, critical behavior. Believe me, I am guilty of judgmental, critical behavior, but I try to accentuate the positive. Sometimes it’s hard – sometimes it’s impossible, but it is a good life policy. It’s good advice that I struggle to remember.
2. Keep your eye on the ball -- Steve and I have known each other for almost 22 years – I’ve known him longer than I haven’t known him. During that time – actually, pretty early in our relationship, he realized that I could not catch a ball. Ever. One day he was standing at the bottom of our stairs, about to pitch something up to me (He knew I couldn’t catch, but Steve is ever optimistic), when he says, “Keep your eye on the ball.” I laughed. Right. That won’t help. He said, “Try it. Watch the ball into your hand.” So I tried it, and I realized that I had always been watching the pitcher, and not the ball. Amazing what happened. I caught the ball. I certainly don’t ALWAYS catch the ball, but my average is a little bit better than zero now. In life, we need to keep our eyes on the ball. What is our goal? Where are we headed? What outcome is it that we are seeking? If we keep that goal in mind – if we keep our eye on the ball – we are much more likely to catch it – to reach the goal. Steven Covey calls it beginning with the end in mind.
3. Righty Tighty, Lefty Loosey – You must understand that unlike most people in the world, I cannot naturally tell my right from my left. I have to think about it – every time. If you watch me giving someone directions, you’ll see me look at my hands, and move the right one into a position which suggests holding a pencil – I know I’m right handed, so if I can figure out which hand holds a pencil, I know which one is my right hand, and I can complete the directions. This deficiency in my natural abilities makes it hard to know which way to turn a light bulb or a screw to secure them where they need to go. One day my brother-in-law was in town, and he told me, “Righty tighty, lefty loosey.” Wow. A revelation. I still have to figure out which way is right, but once I do, I know which way to turn the bulb, the screw, or the regulator on a tank of nitrogen gas (multipurpose advice which was helpful at work, too). We all need to know the direction to go which will give us the result we want. Our direction in life is important. We may know what we want, or where we want to go, but it is vital to figure out the best way to get there. We want our efforts to be productive. We don’t want to work against ourselves. Haven’t you ever watched someone working desperately to make something happen, but never realizing that they he (or she) was his own worst enemy? Which path will take us where we need to be?

Look for the positive, keep our eye on our goal, and figure out the best way to get there. Words to live by.

What’s the best advice you ever received?

Image: Petunia from Pullman Square this afternoon.