Talking Point: We’re given advice throughout our lives — but a person can only take so much

IAN COLE takes all the advice on board but there is one suggestion he cannot abide

BIG STAR, STRAIGHTFORWARD ADVICE: Alec Guinness with Grace Kelly in The Swan.

No matter your age, people seem to want to give you some advice!

As kids we got plenty of advice from parents and grandparents and then stepping into the big world of work, we got more of the same from bosses and colleagues.

Now these days we can get it from our kids and even grandkids!

At the moment, I’ve got a crook neck.

I know everyone is attempting to be helpful, but it would be interesting to list (which I won’t) the large range of advice I’m getting to help my situation.

Reversing a car when your neck won’t turn more than 45 degrees becomes difficult.

One suggestion from a friend was to wear a neck-brace like he has done for his crook neck.

I asked him how that was going help, to which he gave the adroit reply, “I haven’t looked back since!”

Advice is everywhere and it seems especially directed to people of my age group.

We get advice on our health, on our diet, on exercise or lack of it, on our finances, on downsizing, on sleeping and whether we are drinking too much!

I take it all with good grace until someone says to me, “What you should do is ...”

I won’t take that. I’ve tried earnestly to rule out that expression from my vocabulary.

How rude and pretentious is it for me to tell someone what they should do and vice versa?

Should anyone be telling me what I should do? I now pull myself up and try and begin with, “An idea might be!” when someone is seeking advice.

However, we can be given advice that does save embarrassment.

As a young teacher about to face a class for the first time, I was given the same practical advice that Sir Alec Guinness gave to many aspiring actors before they went on stage.

“Wipe your nose and check your fly!”

We do our best to accommodate all the advice we are tendered, but maybe it’s best not to take it all on board.

A Danish proverb tells us that he who builds to everyone’s advice will have a crooked house.

I can relate to that.

After being told on many occasions to:

Keep my eye on the ball; keep my ear to the ground; keep my shoulder to the wheel; and keep my nose to the grindstone ...

It’s no wonder my neck is crook!

Tasmanian Ian Cole is a retired teacher and one-time Labor MP.