Before you give advice, that is to say advice which you have not been asked to give, it is well to put to yourself two questions - namely, what is your motive for giving it, and what is it likely to be worth? If these questions were always asked, and honestly answered, there would be less advice given.
Interpretation
Before offering unsolicited advice, consider your intentions and its potential value.
This quote by John William Mackail emphasizes the importance of reflecting on one's motives and the relevance of unsolicited advice. It suggests that many people offer advice without fully considering whether it is appropriate or beneficial, which could lead to unnecessary confusion or misguidance.
In practice
During team meetings, remind colleagues of the importance of considering motives before giving feedback.
We have a choice. We can seek for the bad in others. Or we can make peace and work to extend to others the understanding, fairness, and forgiveness we so desperately desire for ourselves. It is our choice; for whatever we seek, that we will certainly find.
The sun illuminates only the eye of the man, but shines into the eye and the heart of the child.
Barking dogs occasionally bite, but laughing men hardly ever shoot.
Our lives are a sum total of the choices we have made.
Be generous in prosperity and thankful in adversity, Be fair in thy judgment, and guarded in thy speech. Be a lamp unto those who walk in darkness, and a home to the stranger. Be eyes to the blind, and a guiding light unto the feet of the erring. Be a breath of life to the body of humankind, a dew to the soil of the human heart, and a fruit upon the tree of humility.
Cultivate the habit of early rising. It is unwise to keep the head long on a level with the feet.
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