"Attach yourself to"

[Odessa Dawn]

"Attach yourself to those who advise you rather than praise you."

"If you attach yourself to a person or group, you join them, usually for a limited period of time"

I have no problem with the definition, but the underlined part of the definition shattered my thoughts because I need others' advice and without them I will be ruined and, therefore, going through trying time it means I need someone to turn to. Also, I am in constant trouble and there is no solution lies in store for me. In a word, the rest of that definition goes against my wishes.


Question: Can I exclude the underlined part?

Thank you,

[probus]

Yes, I think you can. I disagree with the author's "usually for a limited period of time."

In psychology, attachment theory is the study of the emotional bonds we form with other people.

See Attachment Theory - About.com

For almost all of us our attachment to our mothers is one of the most permanent and significant things in our lives.

In general (as opposed to scientific) usage, attachment still signifies the emotional connections we form with people, ideas or things. Depending on the nature of what we attach ourselves to, and on our own special natures, these bonds may be more permanent or less permanent. But I can see no justification for the blanket claim that our attachments are generally temporary.

To take just one example: those of us who post here as teachers rather than students probably all have a lifelong attachment to the English language, and I doubt that any of us will ever give that up.

[5jj]

I disagree with probus so long as we are talking about the phrase 'attach oneself to'; we are not discussing the noun 'attachment'. I think that for the former, the idea of 'usually for a limited period of time' is reasonable.

... but the underlined part of the definition shattered my thoughts because I need others' advice and without them I will be ruined and, therefore, going through trying time it means I need someone to turn to. Also, I am in constant trouble and there is no solution lies in store for me. In a word, the rest of that definition goes against my wishes.

I suggest you take a slighly more relaxed approach to language, OD.