Gathering multiple opinions helps people make better choices by giving them multiple viewpoints. These new viewpoints can give them various new way to approach the decision. By having multiple ways to approach the problem, you can choose the best one and make the best decision.

Asking someone for advice can make you realize an option that you haven't thought of yet. Sometimes you think that you can only choose one of two or three options. However, when you ask someone else for advice, they might notice an option that you hadn't noticed that's even better. One time I had a track meet on my friends birthday. I wanted to go to his birthday party and celebrate with him, but my team really needed me to run the mile event because I had the fastest mile time out of the team. I asked my coach if it would be okay if I missed the meet, then he told me that I could just run the mile and then leave afterward. I hadn't thought of that because usually, everyone runs all the events just to give each team a better chance at the fastest time. So decided to leave early for my friend's party. I ended up winning the mile event, and then having a great time at my friend's party. Not only does asking for advice give you new options, but it can help you think through your existing options more thoroughly.

Another reason to gather different viewpoints is other people might view the decision in a different way. By gaining a different viewpoint of the decision, you could notice new pros and cons that you hadn't thought of for each option. At the beginning of this year I was deciding whether or not I wanted to apply for Generic_School. When I was deciding if I wanted to apply, I was mostly thinking about how hard to application process would be. Only really intelligent people get into Generic_School, and I wasn't sure if I had a good enough chance of getting in. I focused mostly on whether or not I was going to make it in, and if the probability of me getting in was worth the effort. When I asked my dad for advice he said "do you even want to go to Generic_School?" He told me that going to Generic_School was really stressful and time consuming, and many of the people there spend almost all of there time studying and doing work. Those were things that I had not considered before. I realized that Generic_School wasn't for me, so I ended up not applying. The different viewpoints that you get, can come from other experiences, and be applied to your own.

Other people can sometime give you advice because have gone through a similar choice. If you ask someone for advice, they may be able to take something they learned from a choice they had to make. You can apply that to the decision that you need to make. When I was in fifth grade, I was in my last year of Cub Scouts and I was getting ready to cross over into Boy Scouts. I had to choose what Boy Scout troop I wanted to cross over to. I couldn't decide on which one I wanted to go to, so I asked my great uncle, who was a very successful scout, how he decided which troop he wanted to join. He told me to "find a group of scouts that I would enjoy sharing a meal or a tent with, because if you have that, your time in scouting will be much more enjoyable." That advice led me to Generic_Name, they were all really nice people, so I ended up joining their troop. Four years later I'm still enjoying Boy Scouts, I've gone on dozens of camping trips, and made some of my best friends. Asking my great uncle for advice was really helpful in that situation.

Asking people for advice is very important, because hearing other viewpoints can give us a new way of thinking about the decision we have to make. The next time you have to make an important choice, try asking people you trust for advice.