Sometimes people who are older than us or who have had more experience, try to give us advice. They see us making decisions that have a chance of hurting us or making life more difficult. These people may try to get us to look at the implications of using drugs, of drinking, or of sex with selfish, irresponsible, or uncaring partners. The more experience people have, the more likely they can see implications, causes and effect, and consequences. This raises an interesting issue. For many of us, the negative experiences that we maybe could have avoided have turned out to have helped us learn some of the most valuable lessons in our lives. But there are often easier ways to learn lessons, and as we get older, hopefully we discover ways to learn without having to hurt ourselves or others in the process.

1. Do you think it is possible for someone to learn something from someone else’s experience, or do we each have to experience everything ourselves?

2. Why is it so hard for us to take advice from others?

3. Can you point to times you did or did not learn from someone else?