Getting advice from others helps you in many ways. Sometimes it may be hard to make decisions alone, and asking for other opinions is a good idea. Most of the time, the person you ask for advice from will be more responsible, have a clearer perspective, and may have even experienced the same problem as you. All in all, asking peers and adults for advice leads you to make a better choice than you would have if you hadn't asked for their opinions.

Asking friends for advice helps you gain a new perspective on your situation. Since other people aren't in in your shoes, they will be less biased when deciding what to do. I was once in a fight with my friend Generic_Name. I had told her a secret, and she was the only person I had told. When I found out that other people knew my secret, I was angry and decided to stop talking to Generic_Name completely. I assumed that she was to blame for telling others my secret. I missed having Generic_Name to talk to, but still couldn't believe she let out my secret. I decided to ask Generic_Name, a mutual friend of Generic_Name and I, for advice. After telling Generic_Name what had happened, she gave me her view on the situation. She told me that maybe someone had overheard me when I was telling Generic_Name my secret. I thought about it, and realized that this was likely what happened. I was being so stubborn and wasn't very open-minded about the situation because I had immediately assumed that Generic_Name had betrayed me. Generic_Name's advice was very helpful because she had a different perspective on what happened. The next day, I confirmed that Generic_Name's suspicions were true, and apologized to Generic_Name. If I hadn't asked Generic_Name for advice, I don't think I would have found out what really happened. An additional benefit of hearing the opinions of others is that they can help you make more responsible decisions.

It is important to ask adults for advice because they are more mature. Parents and elders can help you make smarter decisions that will help you for the future. A study done by Harvard University examined the brains of a 14-year old and a 40-year old. They discovered that the frontal lobe, which helps with decision making, was significantly more developed in the 40-year old than the teenager. They concluded that adults in general will think about the both the long- and short-term effects of the choice, while teenagers are likely to just make the more appealing decision for themselves in the present. For example, if asked to go out to a party, a teenager would say yes because they think that it will make them more popular. Now, if the teenager asked the adult if they could go to this party, the adult would take into account that the party would prevent the teenager from studying for an important test, and they would tell the teenager not to go. The adult's decision is much more practical for the future, while the teenager's decision will only benefit them for a short amount of time. Asking an adult for advice is also helpful because they may have been in the same situation as you before.

Adults are wiser and more experienced than kids. They have seen more issues and also have a better idea of how to solve them. One time, my cousin, Generic_Name, had to make a decision on whether or not he should join the school track team. He knew that it would be a fun experience, but also knew it would be very time-consuming. Generic_Name was also a member of both the soccer and football teams. He decided to ask his dad for advice since his dad had also been a high school athlete. His dad's advice helped Generic_Name with his decision. His dad told him that he had participated in three high school sports, and that he wished he hadn't. As a student, he struggled constantly and never had enough time to go to sports practice and finish his homework. Generic_Name's father also said that he only got about 5 hours of sleep each night. Generic_Name was glad that he had asked his dad for help. He decided not to do track after hearing his dad's advice. The previous experience of Generic_Name's dad helped Generic_Name to not make the same mistake. If Generic_Name hadn't sought out his dad's opinion, he would have struggled to do his schoolwork and would be tired during the school day. It is important to ask people for advice because most of them have already experienced many of the issues that you will go through.

When struggling to make a decision, hearing the advice of others is vital. Friends and family members can help you make smarter, more responsible decisions that will help you in the long-run. The reason that asking others is so beneficial is because they have a different perspective, are more mature, and have also been in more situations than you. The next time you have to make a choice, the best thing to do is to seek for the advice of others.