Stop taking random advice from people.
Be a better gatekeeper and pay attention to those who make you think, laugh, and take action. Preferably all three.
We have such excellent access to knowledge, new perspectives, and views of the world. It’s easy to take it for granted and let it all stream past us. There’s no shortage of people spouting off their insights and opinions, present company included. Each pontificator has their reasons, from noble to nefarious. Your job, a new responsibility for many, is to act as a gatekeeper.
Keep the toxicity away, unless you are studying it. Have a broad circle that confirms your thinking, to give you support when you need it, but also include those who challenge you. You should have your beliefs challenged, if for no other reason than to strengthen them. Find ideas from a world beyond your own, and you will see similar goals and differing paths. Your competitors will raise your game, and your detractors will keep you humble.
Do not rely on others to edit your inputs. Find the sources you know, like, and trust and compare them to those you don’t. The truth you seek and need to hear will nearly always rest between those two camps.
Do not be a passive observer. Participate. First, have the courage to speak. Then, endeavor to be heard.
Also published on Medium.