Loving Through Your Own Advice

As human beings, we are good at giving others advice, either wanted or unwanted. We can tell someone else how they should live, what they should do, and everything in between.

But have you ever stopped to think about the advice you give and if it is what you would do yourself?

This concept of taking our own advice falls short for many reasons. For one, people have difficulty seeing themselves in someone else's problem. Secondly, humans feel better about themselves when they give advice, but that doesn't always mean it is good advice. On the contrary, it can be horrible advice because it does not come from a loving space. Instead, it's given in a way to make ourselves feel more powerful and superior.

I am sure we all can recall a moment or two of receiving advice from someone and knowing it was not coming from a place of love or good intentions. These moments teach us how to communicate with others in a way we would like for ourselves. I always think how hard it used to be to ask someone for their advice, so I keep that in my mind when asked, as it reminds me to speak from my heart.

The first thing in giving advice is listening to what they ask us, not what would make us feel good. I love nothing more than helping others and anyone who wants my advice on something, but what I try to remind myself is, that it is not about me, it is about them. I want anyone to walk away from my advice and feel that I saw them, heard them, and truly cared.

I always try to give advice that I use or that has helped me, but what I believe to be the most important thing is to come from a place of seeing someone, not a space of being superior. That truly makes all the difference in the world. XO-Rach