Oopsie! I had a premature post there a little bit ago – hopefully that won’t happen again. I’m using the WordPress site on my IPad as my laptop died on me. So inconsiderate!! I just lost an entire post so I’m grabbing a sangria and starting over. Cheers! …………
Ok, Girlfriends, I need to rant. I need to blow off a little steam and GET THIS OFF MY CHEST. I don’t want to go to carry around this angst.
So what has my panties in a twist? Take a guess……
My kids? Surprisingly no.
My X-husband, “Mr. MF-Ski”? Nope.
My boss? Ha, ha, no. He has been behaving lately.
I am not pissed about my cellulite, how the refrigerator stinks (again), the high cost of living in the Bay Area or how hard it is to find stylish walking sandals that don’t look like Grandma Wilma’s orthopaedics!
I am breathing hard because I am FED UP. Enough already!
I have heard too many excuses; excuses like you don’t have time, you don’t have a choice, you don’t have a small waist or a big bank account…… you don’t think your opinion matters, you don’t want to rock the boat, blah, blah, blah!
You don’t want to date until you lose ten pounds. You don’t want to travel until you retire. You don’t want a new job because you don’t like change.
…….. ……….. ………. ……. You don’t have any problem complaining though. ………that’s the part that annoys me!
I see your heavy heart. I feel your outrage. I hear your desperation.
Your pain is very familiar to me.
Like you, I chose to play it safe. I lived surrounded by walls built by my own fear. I put everyone else and everything else first. I either numbed or distracted myself to keep from feeling anything. I blamed everyone and everything for my UN-everythingness!!
Superwoman puts up with bullshit because she can; she’s a fictional character!!! We on the other hand are only human!
I used to live that way but I don’t do that anymore. I gave myself permission to think and act differently. I’m in no way perfect- I still slip up and indulge in a bitchfest or feel sorry for myself. Progress not perfection, Girlfriends!
When I was in the elementary school, I pitched an idea to my teacher. We had a trash problem on the playground and I told her that we could solve the issue if we bedazzled our trash cans. “Let’s make it fun to throw away our trash!” ! Ok, I didn’t use the word bedazzled in 1972 but this is a true story! The project was approved. I moved ahead with my idea. The can said, “FEED ME’ and featured Lucy from The Peanuts.
Fear has a way of looking really attractive; like a big colorful trashcan called Lucy who eats your dreams. The more you feed the fear, they more fear grows and keeps you small.
Fear...
Advice? It’s an Artform
ADVICE. It sounds like a simple topic yet giving and receiving advice is a mine field or should I say MIND field which potentially disables otherwise healthy relationships.
Think back to the last time you received unsolicited advice. I bet it didn’t feel good regardless of the topic. As soon as I hear “YOU SHOULD”, my hackles go up. I stop listening. It’s like you’re holding my arms down and force feeding me worms. Stop already! I am super sensitive to you know-it-all “do gooders” that try to tell me what to do!
Because I am sensitive to unsolicited advice givers, I try to mind my P’s and Q’s and keep quiet. If I had to guess, I would say that the catalyst for giving unsolicited advice likely falls into one of three categories:
1) POWER PLAY. The need to be the authority figure or the need to feel important.
2) DRAMA QUEEN. The “need to be needed” a monster fed on a strict “drama diet”.
3) ALTRUISTIC DO-GOODER. An eager but authentic desire to help.
So what if you are asked to provide advice? Is there a good way to offer your thoughts without blowing up the MIND field?
GOLDEN RULE: DO NOT OFFER ANY ADVICE UNLESS YOU ARE ASKED FOR IT.
Then when you do speak up, you address the topic from your own experience. “I found or I did” over “you should”. Speak from your truth. The recipient takes what they want and leaves the rest. The quality of your advice has nothing to do with their actions. You are not tied to their outcome.
Have you ever found yourself in a situation where you don’t know if you are being asked for advice??? If in doubt you can say, “do you want to know what I think?” And then be prepared to stop talking if they say no! (easier said than done!) Engage brain before engaging mouth. I find myself in this position quite often with my boys.
Please, only give sincere advice that you support and would follow yourself! Be credible. If not, your words feel cheap. There is no other way I can think to describe it. I can smell “cheap” a mile away! Save your breath.
Now the flipside……you are the advice seeker. You are looking for guidance so consider this:
- The SOURCE. Am I asking the right person for advice? I wouldn’t ask my son for parenting advice nor would you want me to give you advice on your investment portfolio. Am I going to someone that is afraid to tell me the truth? Do I trust that they will have my best interest in mind? That they will be honest!
2. Feeling RESISTANCE. If I run up against resistance, I know there is something else going on and I probably need guidance. This week I was asked to...
