Taking Your Own Advice, It’s Not Just For Other People

Moron Cuts Tree and Crushes His Porch

Anyone else think he was cutting on the wrong side? Too little too late but I bet a lot of us could have given him some good advice and I bet afterwards he realized he knew better.

This is half rant against myself and half a reminder to others to take thier own advice or at least listen to others. We often get caught up in our own situations or just think, it won’t happen to me but then it does happen and we wonder how could we have been so dumb.

Knowledge is power, right?  So why do people, who have the knowledge, make bad decisions?  Is it laziness? Do we think it can’t happen to us?  I remember the story of a lawyer who decided to sell cocaine to make a little extra money and got shot on his first deal.  He didn’t think it would happen to him.

Here are some examples of people I know, or read about, who knew better but do it anyway,

• Dentist chews ice, cracks tooth.
• Transmission repairman buys vehicle with bad transmission.
• Overweight doctors and nurses.
• Cops and judges getting busted for DUI’s.
• Kid, stick, other kid, eye, emergency room.  Mom said…
• Financial writer filing for bankruptcy.
• Anyone getting free music online and receiving a virus.
• Reaching under a mower while it’s on. (High school friend’s dad lost some fingers)
• Mountain climber not taking enough equipment or food for emergency.
• A loan officer missed a prepayment penalty in his loan documents.
• and on and on

Some above are obvious but we still don’t do the little things we know that we should like to change our oil, not let wet clothes sit in the washer for three days, eating potato salad after four hours at the park, going on vacation and skipping the sunscreen, etc.

I could tie this in to real estate, about the tough financial times people are having and some with Foreclosure Fatigue but it has to do with all of the other things in our life as well.   Chances are you’re smart and can give good advice, but remember that psychologists aren’t supposed to counsel family members becasue they are too close to the situation.

So what did I do?  Something silly but costly and not real estate related.  I need to find the solution and eat some humble pie for not following my own advice before I snitch on myself.  Just remember to consider what advice you would give someone else before you trudge forward and follow it.