When Everyone Has an Opinion, Nobody Has the Answer

Ever notice how the more people you ask for advice, the more confused you become? That's exactly what we're diving into this week as we explore the paradox of decision-making in a world full of opinions.

"If you want to make the wrong decision, ask everyone." This powerful quote forms the foundation of our conversation about why seeking too many perspectives often leads us astray rather than providing clarity. When standing at life's crossroads, our natural instinct is to gather input from others. But as each person offers their unique viewpoint—one advocating risk, another preaching caution—we quickly find ourselves overwhelmed and paralyzed. This hesitation creates the perfect breeding ground for doubt and fear, often causing us to abandon ideas we were initially passionate about.

What's truly fascinating is how this pattern erodes our self-trust over time. Each instance of deferring to outside opinions weakens our decision-making muscles, creating a dependency cycle that's hard to break. Instead of this scattered approach, I suggest being intentional about whose advice you seek. Look for experienced voices who'll provide constructive challenges rather than just affirmation. Remember that most people advise from their comfort level—cautious people will always tell you to play it safe, while risk-takers push for bold moves.

Do you find yourself repeatedly seeking advice on a decision you've already made in your heart? Perhaps it's time to ask whether you're looking for guidance or simply afraid to take the leap. Trust your instincts—they might be smarter than the crowd. I'd love to hear about a time when you followed your gut despite conflicting advice. Share your story or leave a review to keep this important conversation going!

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Hey everyone and welcome to this week's episode
of the Michael Noon Podcast.
Hope you're doing well, hopeyou're having a great week.
Wow, another week goes by.
Every day I turn around and gooh, I've got to get another
podcast out.
The weeks just keep flying,flying by.
But you know what's gettingreally good?
The weather.
The weather is getting good andthat's really important.
It's a different energy, right?
I don't know, maybe some of youlive in sunnier places all year

(00:21):
round.
I remember living in SouthernCalifornia.
You just took for granted howgreat that weather is all the
time.
But when you live in England,where a lot of it's overcast and
it can get cold for a while,when that sun comes out it just
feels lovely.
The energy changes.
Everything's amazing.
People are on the high streetssitting outside.
It's lovely.
It's a great, great, greatfeeling.
I mean, spring is here.
Summer's right around thecorner, so it's exciting.

(00:42):
So you might be making plans,you might be deciding to try
something new.
I know I am.
I've got some stuff going onright now.
I'm pretty excited about whatwe'll talk about as the upcoming
weeks come by, but right now Iwant to just talk about
something.
I talked about this a littlebit a few weeks ago, why you
never really want to tell peopleyour stuff.
But I also want to just talkabout here, about why it's
really important that youshouldn't be seeking everyone's

(01:03):
advice when you do choose to dosomething, because a lot of
times, if you want to get thewrong decision, what you do is
you get everybody's advice.
It's not my saying I forgot whoit was, but it's a great.
You know, if you want to makethe wrong decision, ask everyone
.
That's the quote.
If you want to make the wrongdecision, ask everyone.
And again, I forgot who it wasand I feel bad about that, but
it's not mine.

(01:23):
It's not mine.
But you know, the wisdom in itis undeniable.
It just highlights a commontrap many of us fall into, you
know seeking too many opinionsand in the process we tend to
lose clarity.
Whatever that decision, thatthing we were thinking about
doing, we sometimes even cost usour confidence and even cost us
our direction.
And today that's what I want totalk about We'll be right back.

(02:08):
Look, we've all been there.
You know, standing at thiscrossroads, some decision we
need to make, unsure what to do.
So what do we do?
We turn to others, right.
We turn to others' advice.
You know, at first it seemslike a logical approach, right?
After all, getting differentperspectives should help us make
a better choice, right?
Not always, see.
The thing is, the more peopleyou ask, the more varied
responses you get.
And one person tells you totake the risk, another person

(02:31):
says play it safe, someone elsebrings up a concern you never
even considered and before youknow it, you're not just unsure,
you're completely overwhelmed,taking all in on, and too much
can really cause decisionparalysis.
See, instead of moving forward,you get stuck and you start
weighing every possible scenario, trying to make everyone happy,
and this hesitation can costyou valuable time and, of course

(02:52):
, opportunities.
Because once that doubt creepsin, it allows that fear in your
life to creep back in, and thereason a lot of us don't move
forward is because of fear.
And again, the more people youtalked about, it really dilutes
that confidence in your ownjudgment.
You came to this decision basedon something that had been
probably been boiling in you fora long time.

(03:13):
So when you go to too manypeople, it just dilutes that
confidence, like trust your ownjudgment.
See, the thing is, when youstart seeking validation from
others, you risk losing trust inyour own instincts, and the
more you rely on outsideopinions, the less confidence
you develop in making toughcalls on your own or maybe even
moving forward on this thingthat you've been probably
thinking about for a while,you've been so sure about, but

(03:35):
now all of a sudden, you don'twant to do it.
And the thing is, decisions madeby committees right, when you
start talking to everybody, theyrarely lead to any type of
action.
If you look at reallysuccessful leaders in the world,
entrepreneurs, all thesecreatives they don't ask an
entire room what to do.
They seek out trusted voices,they weigh their input carefully
and then they make a call.

(03:55):
If every decision was made by acommittee, innovation would
grind to a halt.
So you might be saying, oh well, I got to talk to somebody.
Who should I talk to?
Well, again, instead of talkingto everyone, be intentional
about whose advice you seek.
You know, filter out that noise, seek out experience over
opinions.
You know I've been like workingon something I'm actually

(04:18):
pretty excited about and again,we'll talk about it a little bit
more, we'll talk about it.
But anyway, you know it wassomething that if I just put out
to everybody, I would get amillion different, varied
opinions.
And what I started doing islike a couple of people I went
to kind of, you know that Itrusted their valuable feedback,
but I also have been seekingout experienced opinion, just
calling on people I don't evenknow to sort of talk them
through.
You know, asking people whohave real world expertise in the

(04:40):
area and an area that, for me,I'd be struggling with because
it's a completely new area to me.
You know, again, not justseeking out people who have an
opinion.
So for you it's look for peoplewho challenge, not just affirm.
It's tempting to ask people whowill validate your feelings.
But that real growth and thatreal knowledge and information
you're looking for really comesfrom those who challenge you
with constructive insight.
And that's what you're reallylooking for.

(05:01):
Maybe those blind sides, notpeople telling you again from
their opinion.
See, the thing is most peopleare going to tell you from their
comfort level, people who tellyou to take risk.
Go for it, take the risk.
Or probably people have takenrisks.
People say no, no, no, got toplay it safe.
That's too big of a risk.
It's probably because all theydo is they just play it safe in
their lives what you'll come torealize with most people.
They live in a world of playingit safe.

(05:23):
They like to exist in thatcomfort zone.
Any thought of going outsidethat comfort zone usually sets
off a bell that says ding, ding,ding, ding, ding, no, no, no,
don't do that.
Don't do that and it shrinksthem right back into their world
.
But if you gotta get out thereand you gotta talk to people,
just limit your circle ofadvisors.
Just a small group of trustedpeople, whoever it is, who

(05:47):
understand your goals, andthey'll provide more value than
a crowd of conflicting voices.
Right, just trust yourself morebecause, again, at the end of
the day, decisions carry risk.
There's no perfect answer.
The best choice is often onemade with clarity and conviction
on your part, not just onewatered down by too many voices.
All right, seeking advice isvaluable, but trusting yourself

(06:07):
is essential.
So next time you're facing abig decision, just ask yourself
am I looking for guidance or amI just too afraid to make that
decision?
See, that might be the answerthat you're looking for, and
that's what I got for you today.
All right, listen, I wish youguys the best.
I hope you have a great week,and I know this one's short to

(06:33):
the point, got busy this week um, coaching american football, uh
, for those uh who follow yeah,here in england and uh, it's
kind of taking up some time ontop of every other thing I got
going on in my life.
And, as always, the mikemuldoon podcast.
It's about keeping it short,keeping it quick, keeping it to
the point so that you're justwith you for a few minutes on
your commute, your walk,wherever you're heading, and I
appreciate you listening, Iappreciate you sharing with your
friends.
Make sure, if you're on AppleSpotify, hit that like button
Again.

(06:53):
Been with you here every weekfor the last two and a half
years or more, so, and I'm notgoing anywhere.
Have a great rest of your week,have a great weekend, Be safe
and, as always, I got nothingbut love for you.