This all seems fairly straightforward enough, and I rarely reply to anything because Bushie always goes into meltdown mode when I do, but Bushie has an extreme propensity to abdicate responsibility if an "authority figure" tells him it's OK.
It doesn't matter if that person truly knows better when it comes to what Bushie needs for personal development or whether they actually know better about a particular subject: he's taking that advice, by God, and you better not dare question him nor the person who advised him's qualifications to do so (because then you're viciously attacking both him and them by insinuating they're stupid, ignoring good ol'-fashioned tradition for elitism, and most importantly, taking away from Bushie his guilt-free cop-outs).
More often than not, these authority figures seem to provide him with advice that allows him to cop-out of making the right decision in his personal, financial, occupational and educational backgrounds. The biggest question is why so many around him are willing to not only condone his bad behavior, but also seem to provide objectively-bad advice. I would say that undiagnosed mental illness in Southern culture is much more pronounced and often hereditary in general, but Bushie won't have any of that, so perhaps Bushie is just so great at convincing people to tell him what he wants to hear and then, hey, "I made the right decision - that's a fact" or whatever.
He'll go home early from school or work if his teacher or boss tells him it's OK - even if he's not feeling
that bad and even if he needs to be present for his own sake of sticking to an actual schedule, instead of just planning schedules. He'll quit a job if mom and dad tell him it's alright, because he should literally spend all of his free time looking for a better job - even though the job-hunts never, ever take enough time to justify calling the task itself your "full-time job". He'll suddenly change his life goals if he believes a religious adviser has sensed he was called to do something, but when that gets difficult, an amazing change in his purpose is handed down from on high. He goes on a diet and promises to keep it, but each and every opportunity at which even the slightest amount of resistance presents itself - whether grandma cooks unhealthy, mom cooks unhealthy, the McDonald's is closer than the supermarket, or the regular Coca-Cola is simply too precious to waste by pouring out for Diet Coke - he'll explain that it'd just be too rude or difficult to adapt to the situation positively.
But there really is a common theme to all of these bad decisions, and summarized below is an easy-to-remember system.
The B.U.S.H.I.E. System:
Step 1: Bluntly Decide What You'll Ultimately Do
Step 2: Use Authority Figures After Convincing or Reassuring
Step 3: Sell the Excuse to Others
Step 4: Hold Others Who Criticize in Contempt
Step 5: Ignore Additional Advice
Step 6: Exit Conversation
