Then you have family and friends. They usually mean well and believe they are doing you the greatest service by helping you out with advice and interjecting opinions but in the end they don't really have to live with your decisions, but you do. While it is wise to heed the advice of the successful, usually the people JUMPING to give you their advice are just doing so to validate their own insecurities. And, why would you take advice about money from someone who is thousands of dollars in debt or about starting a business from someone who is working as a cashier at the quickie mart? Or how about, and this is my personal favorite, taking advice about relationships from someone whose own relationships last a month at the most? It is good to have family and friends who want to be there for us and to help us out when we need it. But, we still are responsible for our own decisions and we all have the ability to measure advice given but ultimately think for and make our decisions for ourselves. Its called free will.

Independent thinkers are the most empowered people. They do take advice when its necessary and appropriate and from people who are actually qualified to give advice based on their own success. But, they also know when to measure advice with a grain of salt, so to speak. Intuition, researching an issue, self-knowledge, among other things, are what these INTERNALLY powerful people utilize the most when making even the most profoundly important decisions. The first step to thinking like these winning individuals is waking up to realizing that yes we indeed are lacking in our critical thinking skills. And, like i've already said, I too had to recently check in and admit that my own skills in this arena needed improving. In the past, I 've been guilty of taking someone else's advice too much to heart just to please them. And, you want to know the result of that? At those times, I actually ended up taking the biggest wrong turns in life. How many times have you done this? We've all done this at one time or another.

Caring too much what others think of you is yet another habit that prevents us from truly living empowered lives. And, again I'm guilty as charged. When we give others that kind of power over us, we allow ourselves to be manipulated by manipulating and there is no power in that on either side of the aisle. And, this cannot be reiterated enough, we are the only ones ultimately that have to live with our decisions.

So, the next time someone is all to ready to give advice or tries to talk you into doing something that is contrary to what you think or feel, ask yourself? Am I about to go along with this because I KNOW its right for me? You own body is a good barometer for gauging how you truly feel about any decision you are about to make? Check in with it. When someone is giving you advice, as you are appeasing whomever is rambling on about how you should or shouldn't do something, notice how you are feeling about what is being said? Monitor your body. As you start to make this a habit and become accustomed to using your emotional "gauging system", then it becomes easier to filter out the debris of unwanted and erroneous opinions. Intuition is spoken through the emotions and flashes of insight come best and more often when the mind is not used as a recording instrument. And, its usually these flashes of insight that are the most qualified opinion givers because they are usually coming from a higher intelligence that we are all connected to. Its usually a good idea to heed them first and foremost.

Relax, and really start to know your own mind. That truly is what empowered people do. Its an ongoing process but, its definitely worth doing. Trust me I'm constantly digging up gems in that chaotic noggin of mine.

Until Next Time,

AudreyLynn