Being A Wise Guy

It's frightening to suddenly find yourself the resident wise guy.

It's a position that I have not really held before, at least in any degree of regularity. I have always had the benefit of having others around me who were older and wiser, someone that I could turn to - or direct others to - as a reference.

Now more and more, I'm finding that it's myself.

I'm mostly frightened that I will give the wrong advice. Ideally I have enough bad decisions under my belt that I can confidently say "Don't do this; it doesn't work". However, I also have enough experience (in my less well experienced days, to be sure) of giving advice to others which did not work out nearly so well - for example, my track record at matchmaking is about zero.

It's a great incentive to read and study, of course - being a wise guy means you should have pithy statements and good quotes. It's also a good incentive to measure what I do in my own life - am I living the advice I give?

Still, it is a humbling set of shoes to walk in, shoes which I do not nearly fit so well as those who have gone before me in my own life.