About Advice and That Chair

Post 164:

            It’s hard to take advice. Especially if it’s concerning something you’re heavily invested in, something that you know in your bones you’ve ruminated on and thought over longer than the person giving said advice.

            That was kind of a circuitous sentence. Let me give you a scenario.

            Say you spend a month handcrafting a chair. Every inch has been put through the proverbial paces, sanded, shaped, chiseled—all that chair-making stuff.

            So a buddy comes by and takes a look. He tells you it’s good, but maybe next time do this, do that. Advice. Nothing wrong with it. Your buddy isn’t being insensitive, just honest.

            It’s better than being lied to, but it’s medicine. And medicine doesn’t sell for the taste.

            There’s something counterintuitive about advice, and it’s something to watch out for. It would seem that someone coming in having done no work of their own wouldn’t be able to give pointers with any sort of authority or efficacy. Like I said, you did all the work, pored over the thing.

            But it’s their remove that makes it beneficial. Creators tend to look at their creations like children. There’s that unconditional attachment; meanwhile, the person behind you at the supermarket wishes you would put a muzzle in that thing.

            I’m not a big fan of advice. But it’s the bitter pills, sometimes. Part of being all grows up, I suppose.

            Hearty weekend to all. See you after.