What Do You Think?

How many times have you asked that question to someone close to you?

We’ve all done it.

We’re looking at something we’ve never done before and we turn to the person beside us and ask them what they think? And ninety-nine times out of a hundred it’s usually not a positive response we get back. 

But is that the right thing to do? Should we ask others for their opinions and thoughts? Here are three reasons why maybe it’s not a wise thing to do…

1 – You’re Asking The Wrong Person – You’d never ask your doctor for car advice, or vice versa.  Yet, we do that when it comes to some of the biggest decisions we make. We ask a broke friend for financial advice. We ask a person that’s never worn a pair of trainers if we could run a marathon. We ask someone that’s never taken a risk in their life if we could write a book and toss that idea because we get a no.

2 – Most People Aren’t Thinking – From dusk to dawn, you’ll find a lot of people run their lives on autopilot. They get up at the same time, have the same breakfast routine, drive the car to work on the same route, talk about the same mindless things at breaktime, come home and watch the same TV shows, and pull the covers over themselves at the same time each night. – And the majority of that isn’t even done consciously. 

Unless an emergency, accident, or something out of the ordinary pulls them from that routine, it’s only then that they’ll pay attention to what they’re doing.  The great Earl Nightingale once said that people would rather die than think, And it’s so true. – Asking a person what they think when they’re not even thinking never gets the right response. 

3 – They’ll Look At The Question Through Their Eyes – Ever have someone hold up a piece of clothing and then ask for your opinion on it? What do you think of this jumper they say, holding it up to their chin. But because your favourite colour isn’t blue, the stacks are against you agreeing with their decision no matter how good fitting that jumper is. 

And that’s because we run questions through our own software before making a decision. Blue reminds you of that boss you hated who always wore blue suits. That guy that cut you off yesterday drove a blue car. Blue makes you feel cold. That colour reminds you of a bad bruise you once had. People that wear blue think they’re the bees’ knees. Or a hundred other reasons why blue isn’t a colour you’d like to wear. – And because you hate blue for any or all of those reasons you’ll answer that question through your own filter. 

‘What do you think?’

A harmless question, but one I’m sure that’s ruined, or if not, kept people from living a larger life. Books not written, travel not taken, careers not chosen, life partners not gone after, and all because we asked the wrong person the wrong question.

So the next you’re about to utter those four words, stop and pause for a moment. 

Is this the right person I should be asking this question of? Have they done the thing I want to do? Does their life, health, wealth, achievements, and results show that they’re far from the right person to ask this question? 

If they’re not, don’t ask it. – Find someone that can answer that question properly for you. Your health, happiness, and life could be a lot better by doing so. 

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