Stubbornness & Why I Need to Be Better at Taking Advice

I stink at taking advice. I really do!  It goes in one ear and out the other. I always jump to the conclusion that the person who is giving me the advice doesn't really know me or the whole story. I don't listen to anyone. I like to figure things out on my own and do them when they're my  idea. (Eric knows this.) I anticipate that I know what things will be like in the future, but then when they're not, I ask, why didn't anyone tell me??? But maybe they did, and I just didn't listen...

I'm stubborn. (Like my mom. ;) And I'm afraid I've passed it on to Rooney!)

Case in Point

We had a friend over a while ago. I asked him how his day was. He said it was discouraging. I listened to him, asked a question and then offered this:

"You have to have days like that. They teach you something."

And I kind of surprised myself. Because that same exact day, I had cried not once but TWICE about missing Rooney (this was back before I got my new job). I kept telling Eric that I just wanted to see her more or stay at home with her.

Well, as I so matter-of-factly said to our friend, I have to have days like that. Because they help me realize what I really want, and if it goes on long enough or if the intensity of the emotion is high enough, I just might take a leap of faith and change my circumstances. (And I eventually did!) I was learning that Roo means more to me than any career.

Why do we give advice so much better than we take it?

I really am trying to change this. When someone tells me what they believe to be a universal truth, I ask more why questions to get to the heart of what they are really saying, and then think through how I can apply it to my own life.

Because other people are smart and there are plenty of people I can learn from.

P.S. This may seem to contradict what Eric wrote earlier this week. I think there is a difference from taking advice from strangers and taking advice from those who God has put in our lives to help us discern things. Here's to hoping I can tell the difference.