How to Handle Advice Without Going Nuts

The internet is full of people telling you how to live, offering you “the secret” to success. From writing coaches promise to unlock your inner Substack savant. Developers on Twitter claim their framework will “change everything.” Fitness influencers insist you’re doing pushups wrong unless you’re clapping between reps. Everyone has their way of doing things.

Here’s the uncomfortable truth: a lot of them are just making stuff up, and others are probably telling you the truth (sort of). Their advice probably did work, but it is not universally, and perhaps it won’t work for you.

That’s how we should treat advice in general: We assume it worked for the person giving it, then reserve the right to ignore it if it doesn’t fit our life. Writing tips, coding patterns, career advice, even health hacks; unless my doctor said it, it goes into the “maybe pile” until I test it.

Because advice is messy, some of it is bedrock: “use version control,” “get enough sleep,” “don’t put metal in the microwave.” But most of what people pass around is more like seasoning; it makes sense in their recipe, but it won’t automatically improve yours. A writer swears by outlining, another swears by discovery writing, and both are convinced they’ve cracked the code. Meanwhile, a lot of books were written with no code at all; just stubbornness and coffee.

What people rarely admit is how much of the advice is shaped by circumstance. Your uncle’s brilliant business strategy might’ve only worked because he stumbled into the right market at the right time. The fitness influencer’s miracle workout might rely on genetics more than technique. The author’s “must-do” rule might have saved their novel, but might just derail yours.

So what do you do with all this noise? You listen politely, maybe write it down, and then treat it like an experiment. Try it in a small way. See if it actually helps. If it does, congratulations, you’ve learned something new. If it doesn’t, you’ve wasted an afternoon, not your entire career. No guilt required.

The point isn’t to build your life around someone else’s blueprint. It’s to collect enough experiments that you end up with a process that feels like yours. And once you have that, the advice machine doesn’t stop; people will still insist you’re doing it wrong. You’ll just be too busy making progress to care.

So yes, take advice. Respect it. Even try it. But always keep your veto power. And please, for your own sake, skip the $2,000 “wealth secrets” webinar hosted by a guy who just learned what compound interest is.