Plans & Advisers

Plans fail for lack of counsel, but with many advisers they succeed.

Proverbs 15:22

This proverb used to confuse me so much. Because, the thing that I would think of upon reading it is that saying, “Too many cooks spoil the broth.” In that, I would be thinking of myself as the broth. To much input causes me to be a people-pleaser as I feel myself being pulled every which way. Which, honestly, results in a lot of heartache and depression. So how could that mean I succeed?

If you have multiple people telling you what you should do or where you should go next with your life, don’t you think that would cause issues? I mean, if you look at your loved ones all around you, you know they want the best for you. But maybe you just can’t shake the thought that you also want the best for yourself as well. Right?

Have you experienced a situation like that? People around you telling you how you should be, what you should do; expecting you to be a certain way. You find yourself closing yourself off to those people. You know what’s best for yourself. You know what you’re going to do. You have your plans laid out and no one can change them, no matter what they say.

But guess what? With that mentality, you’re going to fail. Don’t say I didn’t warn you.

Because this proverb is not talking about everyone trying to do the same thing, causing disaster. Like different cooks flavoring the broth resulting in a nasty taste. I learned upon studying this proverb that you are not the broth.

You aren’t the broth that everyone is trying to flavor. No. Do you know what you are? You’re a learning cook who has plans to make a broth you have never made before. This is what this proverb means.

If you go at something blindly without any guidance, most likely it’ll turn out bad. You’ll make the broth and it’ll taste like it’s lacking, and it’s just not tasty or how you thought it’d turn out.

But, if before you make the broth, you go to the other cooks first, things will turn out differently. You could ask them what they would do to enhance the flavor. They could share with you how they failed and what they should’ve done differently. Or suggest things they didn’t do, but would totally add to the broth if you did them.

You see, if you have tunnel vision, if you are locked into one way of thinking, you have closed your mind. You have closed your mind to any new options that could possibly help your plans succeed and keep you on the right path. And, honestly, in this life, you need the help. We need our vision enlarged and our perspective broadened.

So, next time you make certain plans for your life, don’t get upset if others “put in their two sense.” In fact, seek out the advice of those who know you. Seek out those who have experience.

Build a network of advisers. Because when you do, you can be opened to new ideas. You can weigh a variety of suggestions. And you know what? Your plans will be clearer and more likely to succeed when you do.