Four People You Never Want Advice From

What should I do about this? What do you think about that? What would you do if...?

We all ask for advice. It's a half cup of indecisiveness, one fourth uncertainty, and another fourth of just wanting to hear someone tell you you're not crazy. The recipe for disaster or success. Somehow people always end up asking the wrong people though. Stay clear of these folks when you're looking for quality advice.

1. The One Who's Doing Worse Than You
I never got the sense in doing this. I can't ask a person for advice if they're not at the same level or higher than me in that area. If I'm happier than you, I'm not gonna pick your brain on ways to increase my happiness when you can't even bring about happiness in your own life. Heck, you should be asking me for advice on what I'm doing right.

2. The Yes Man
Sometimes we tend to want to hear our own thoughts reiterated by someone else, just to make us feel better. Half the time, it's not the best option. You want to be able to rely on the person you're asking advice from, knowing that they aren't just going to say what you want to hear. Someone who challenges your thoughts might even give you a new perspective.

3. The Conventionalist
The problem with asking people who are too stuck in tradition, is that their answers can be too safe sometimes. You want a thought that stems from someone with an open mind, who can judge something without thinking if it fits into tradition or not.

4. The "If It Were Me" Guy
Well it's not you. People have different standards, beliefs, levels of tolerance, etcetera etcetera. A person needs to be able to give advice from an outside perspective. In different scenarios, what you would do is not necessarily the best option for that person so keeping their interests, experiences and their values in mind is key in making suggestions.

Asking the wrong people for advice gets you nowhere and if anything, just puts you in more a sticky situation. Of course, different people's advice-giving levels will vary depending on your subject matter so evaluate accordingly. It saves time, energy and breathe!