The Worst Advice I Ever Received

Advice is one of those things that can shape our lives into the right direction, make crooked paths straight, and set us up for success in different aspects of our lives, especially when it is a positive one that comes from a wealth of experience and wisdom. It's always a great thing to have people who give you good advice, as it often goes on to play a vital role in our life's journey; however, it's worth noting that not all advice is great. We also have advice that can be detrimental to one's growth and progress, and in this article I'll be talking about one of the worst pieces of advice I was given, why I felt it was bad, what impact it had on me, and much more.

One of the worst pieces of advice I was given in life was from my father—yes, you read that correctly—and it's not like I'm trying to downplay his relevance in my life; in fact, on several occasions and in different stages of my life, he has given tons of advice that helped shape my life, and I ended up being proud of the results that followed that advice. But then there was one time he gave me advice, which I wasn't pleased about, and in the near future it still felt like I had been wrongly guided. "I'm sure you'll be wondering what that advice he gave me was," he said, and I quote, "A degree is all you need to succeed in life."

Certainly that might sound like great advice in some situations, but what makes it one of the worst pieces of advice I was given was because of the context in which it was stated to me. It was after my high school education, while I was waiting for admission to get into the university, so I decided to make the most of that waiting period to acquire a skill or learn a craft, so I told my parents about my plans to go learn a skill, in either fashion designing or something else, but my dad won't have any of that; according to him, only an education degree can make one successful in life, and he won't allow me to learn a skill that might distract me from my academic journey.

Given his role as my guidance then, I had no choice but to live by his rule and follow his advice, which hindered me from acquiring a skill or learning any craft. Fast forward to when I gained admission into the university. Since I've got no skill I can monetize, it makes me dependent on them for my every need, and this is something I don't like, especially when I see other students like me who are making ends meet for themselves via the skills they've acquired before gaining admission into college. Ultimately I had to learn a skill during my college days, and trust me, it wasn't easy doing that while still keeping up with the pace of my courses' demands.

So seeing all those kinds of things makes me feel bad, because had I not been wrongly advised by my dad on that, the situation wouldn't have been so bad to the point where I had to starve whenever Dad couldn't send me a feeding allowance during my undergraduate days. Also, I had to cut short the craft I was learning alongside my education in college when I saw how uneasy it was to keep up, and by the time I graduated from college, it was another regret, especially when I couldn't secure a job for the next four years, and I saw my friends, who had skills, sustaining themselves with those skills before they later got a job.

So that's about it on one of the worst pieces of advice I was given. I hope you had a good read. Do have a great day, and stay blessed.

All photos are mine.