I used to think asking for advice was a sign I hadn’t figured things out yet. That if I were really competent, really prepared, I would already know what to do. So I kept my questions to myself and made decisions in isolation, convinced that seeking input meant admitting weakness.
I was wrong.
Advice, whether it turns out to be brilliant or misguided, is still valuable. The act of asking teaches you something every single time. Sometimes you learn what to do. Sometimes you learn what to avoid. Sometimes you simply learn how someone else thinks, and that perspective becomes a tool you can use later when the stakes are higher and the room is quieter.
The habit of seeking advice is not about dependence. It is about building a wider view than you can construct alone. When you ask someone how they handled a similar problem, you are not outsourcing your decision.
You are gathering data. You are testing your assumptions against someone else’s experience. You are reminding yourself that no one, no matter how capable, sees the whole picture on their own.
This applies no matter where you are in life. If you are young and just starting out, advice gives you a map through territory you have never crossed. If you are experienced and deep into your career, advice keeps you from becoming rigid, from assuming that what worked five years ago will work now. If you are struggling financially, advice can show you options you did not know existed. If you are comfortable, advice can challenge you to think beyond comfort.
The people who succeed over the long term are not the ones who had all the answers from the beginning. They are the ones who kept asking questions. They stayed curious. They stayed open. They treated every conversation as a chance to learn something, even if the advice itself turned out to be flawed.
Bad advice still teaches you. It shows you what does not fit, what does not align with your values or your situation. It forces you to articulate why you disagree, and that process sharpens your thinking. Good advice, of course, can save you years of trial and error. But both kinds require the same thing from you: the willingness to ask.
“The habit of seeking advice is not about dependence. It is about building a wider view than you can construct alone.”
I think about this now when I am facing a decision that feels too big or too uncertain. I do not wait until I have exhausted every option on my own. I reach out early. I ask people who have been where I am going. I ask people who see the world differently than I do. I ask even when I am not sure what question to ask yet, because the conversation itself often reveals what I need to know.
If you want to build something that lasts, whether it is a career, a business, or a life that feels meaningful, start by making advice a regular practice. Do not wait for a crisis. Do not wait until you are lost. Ask now.
Ask often. Ask widely. The people you talk to today may not have the perfect answer, but they will give you something you did not have before: another way of seeing the problem, another angle to consider, another voice in the room when you sit down to decide.
So this week, reach out to one person and ask them how they handled something you are facing now. Listen carefully. Take notes if it helps. Then make your own decision, informed by what you heard but not bound by it. That is how you grow. That is how you keep moving forward.
