Quite a number of years ago, I learned a lesson about not always relying on other’s opinions.
At the time, I was starting a new job and one of the people I was going to be working with had a reputation as someone not easy to work with. A friend of mine, whose opinion I highly respected, described this person with some very unflattering language that I won’t repeat here.
So I started this new job, and of course my opinion of this other person was colored by what I had heard from others. I automatically decided I didn’t like him.
However, in just a short time my opinion changed. It turned out that this person was someone I really enjoyed working with.
He was friendly and generous and had a warm side that apparently others had overlooked. He was totally unlike the person that others had described to me.
What I learned was to listen to the opinion of others, but to rely on my own experience before forming an opinion.
We can learn a lot from listening to others, but we need to test what we hear before deciding if it works for us.
Even with what I write here, don’t automatically accept what I say without question. Test it for yourself and see if it makes sense. If it doesn’t work for you, feel free to disregard it.
Do the same thing with what you hear on the radio, see on TV, read in newspapers, and hear from politicians. Don’t blindly accept others opinions without checking to see if it makes sense for you and your life.
To your happiness!
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Tags: Personal Development, Self Help
Something similar happend to me in college. I was requiered to take a class my first year. The only one available at the time I had open was with a professor that everyone (& I mean everyone) hated. All my friends advised me to not take the class, take it in the summer or even fall behind one semester if needed, anything to not take the class with him.
I was not going to start off “falling behind” my first year so I decided to tough it out ant take the class. I am so glad I didn’t not listen to any of them, to this day he is the one professor I remember from College. He was the one who got me to sit on the first row, got me to read and participate in class. He challenged me and make me work for my grade and enjoy it.
So I agree, do listen to what other people have to say as warnings or advice but don’t take it as a final word – make your own experiences, live your own life, form your own ideas and opiniosn.
Thanks for visiting, Shop. Excellent story and something I experienced myself with professors. When we rely too much on the opinions of others, we can miss out on some very valuable experiences.
To your happiness!