As you begin making increasingly important and impactful decisions about your life, you’re going to have to navigate this age-old dilemma: when should you follow your heart and when should you heed others’ advice?

Follow Your Heart

• You’ve done significant research from reliable sources and are prepared to learn and grow.
• Your heart is deeply invested in the situation, giving you the resilience to overcome obstacles.
• Conventional wisdom is outdated and will only stifle progress.
• Personal fulfillment and happiness are your primary goals.
• Conventional wisdom contradicts your core values or ethics.

Follow the Advice

• You’re in unfamiliar territory: new career field, health issue, big financial decisions.
• Significant risk or safety is involved: medical decisions, investments, etc.
• There are well-established facts and principles: engineering, law, medicine.
• Decisions need to be made regarding practicality and logistics: starting a business, signing a lease or other contract.
• Different perspectives would broaden your understanding, challenge your understanding and provide alternatives.

It’s all about context and self-awareness.
Ultimately, the most successful people often possess the wisdom to know when to respect the status quo and when to trust their own unique vision. Trust the process!

Note from Chloe – My mom sometimes thinks she knows everything. But she thinks that I think I know everything. It can be tough to know when I should respect the wisdom of age or whatever and when I should go my own way. Do you ever struggle with that?