8 Ways To Start Listening To Your Own Advice

Last week, I blew a thousand bucks to consult a guy to take my business to the next level. That was a thousand bucks for an hour of his time.

I initially went in the call with the mindset of asking for specific strategies and tactics to promote my blog, but instead, it turned into a philosophical hour where he taught me how to become a better writer.

And you know what?

Most of the insights he gave me were things I already knew, things I had done before and things I know I have deep down inside of me.

Ever felt had that “duh” moment where you tell yourself, “I should have just listened to myself!”?

Hindsight is definitely always 20/20

You know how it is.

The answer was right under your nose all along.

You could have done it all on Day 1, but for some unknown reason, you didn’t.

That’s how annoying, torturing even it can be when you don’t listen to your own advice.

I think that we all don’t listen to ourselves because we’re simply too distracted. And then we forget that we’re our best teacher.

Well it’s time to start remembering.

Here are 8 ways to start listening to your own advice

1) Remember that your experience and memories will never lie

There’s just way too much information in this world as people and different institutions try to force feed their truth to you. It can be pretty overwhelming.

To quell the confusion, listen to your experience. Think back to your memories.

Don’t ever doubt them because they’ll never lie to you. You lived them after all.

You saw, you believe and you took it in. It’s not going anywhere. So don’t replace them with ANYTHING else.

2) Reject anything that doesn’t apply to you

This may sound obvious, but it’s actually pretty tricky.

When we want help or advice, we tend to listen to everybody or learn as much as we can. We think that it’s a case of “the more the better.”

This is not entirely true as you may not be ready to take it in yet or it just isn’t something you feel is right for you.

Hence, you need to reject anything you don’t feel for, even if it’s supposedly going to help you.

Take me for example. I spent a thousand bucks on that call, but after a week or so, I found myself rejecting little bits and pieces he gave me. I know it can be put to greater use another time.

3) Be uncomfortable and apply

So maybe you feel a little insecure about wanting to try something out. You’ve done your studying, but now it’s time for the test.

It’s normal to feel a little uncomfortable. That’s why people advocate getting out of your comfort zone.

More importantly, the feeling of discomfort doesn’t mean you’re wrong. It just means you lack experience and it’s a sign to just go through with it!

It’s okay. Listen to yourself and focus on the goal. Then apply.

4) Don’t repeat the same mistake i.e. if you want different results, do something different

It’s the folly of all human beings: To repeat a mistake.

I believe that your own, best and true advice is something you know deep down; something you know is good for you.

So if you want to listen to your own advice, then listen to that little voice, the one that makes you a little uncomfortable, but you know is good for you.

Give that little voice some limelight. The other noise can wait.

5) Stand up for yourself 

There’re always critics and haters around. They’re trying to drown out your own voice.

Stop listening to them. Stand up for yourself and show to them that you’re your own person.

Standing up for yourself is the first step in listening to yourself as it is the milestone you need to prove to yourself that you believe in your ideas and not others’.

I find that a lot of us give in too easily (because we want to appear nice) and then beat ourselves up later on for not listening to ourselves.

Again, you’ve to feel the discomfort and stand your ground. It’s the make or break moment!

6) Go back to your heart

During the call, the guy went through my blog and felt I have been writing what is expected out of me and not what I really wanted. And he’s right.

I showed him an old piece I wrote back in 2011 and told him that was my first, uncomfortable article.

And he said it was by far the best he read.

So you see, sometimes we’re constantly distracted by the world in trying to do what’s expected to attain a certain kind of result. That basically means following the rules.

Rules are okay, but remember that they’re nothing but guides. If you want to produce your best work ever, go back to your heart then. That’s where your own, real advice are at.

7) Be in good company

Surround yourself with positive people, those who’d encourage you and want you to be your best.

We’re only human and from time to time, we look to others for advice, especially in trying to validate our own.

If you’re in the right company, they’d give you a balanced view and encourage you to act upon what you believe in. If you’re not, they’d be ready to shoot it down.

That’s how powerful your environment is. It can make and break not just your own advice, but also your values, principles and beliefs.

8) Embrace the entire process

Now if you noticed, everything I’ve said so far is a process of building up confidence to listen to your own advice.

You go back to your heart. What you feel most always works best for you in the grand scheme of things.

You stand your ground, ignore your naysayers and listen to your own experience. Make no apologies for that.

When it comes to applying your advice, feel the discomfort, don’t be scared and just do it.

Along the way, do yourself a favor and only stick to positive people who watch out for you. But hey, that doesn’t mean you can’t reject some of the things they say.