ADVICE...

I have been receiving a lot of it lately.  –for many reasons… How people deal with a vast array of situations is dependent on the advice they receive and give.  What would we do without it?  How do we deal with too much of it?  (Sleep less...either way!  As I have been getting "older" -- not until next month!!! -- I have seen my sleeping patterns are dramatically affected by stressors. = yuck)

Also Determined as Victimizing Instead of Cited as Encouragement??????  I know that may be a far stretch as to the meaning of ADVICE.  But all the same it is true.

From one of my favorite websites…Wikipedia:  Advice (also called exhortation) is a form of relating personal or institutional opinions, belief systems, values, recommendations or guidance about certain situations relayed in some context to another person, group or party often offered as a guide to action and/or conduct.  Put a little more simply, an advice message is a recommendation about what might be thought, said, or otherwise done to address a problem, make a decision, or manage a situation. Advice is believed to be theoretical, and is often considered taboo as well as helpful.

But how can we live or cope with life’s situations without the motivational advice friends, family, and the other “support” staff we run into throughout our lives.  Grandparents, spouses, therapists, doctors, co-workers, the man down the street that calls me “Bev” because I must have mumbled when I said, “Deb,” the acquaintance from the grocery store……Advice is given everywhere!

Whether we are supplying the advice or absorbing it.  Whether we request it or not.  There is stress attached to both ends. 

When we are the suppliers = Do we advise our friends “too much inspiration” -- as to feel pushy—sharing our opinions and circumstances as a threshold for how they can deal with a situation that is highly, and possibly completely opposite as ours was?…Should we share our thoughts and expectations as how we really feel, or how we would pursue the issue…or do we hide behind the true feelings just to spare the feelings of others, offering only “support” which may resemble the easy way out.  I suppose it depends on the one in need of the advice and what the advice is about, yet some “suppliers” are willing to share their advice regardless of thinking first.  Pushing the limits –always.  

How do we sort the information given and taken in…It can be overwhelming, although at the same time we need these “advisors” in our lives to help us stay on track and sane.  We should be expected at the same time to be that advisor for supporting others.  That is a 2 way relationship… friends, family, spouses……..CHILDREN.  I believe the innocence of children is some of the best ways “advice” can be provided.  They will tell you exactly how it is without over thinking every situation first, as I know I am guilty of. 

I suppose – no matter how bad we think we are struggling with life…there is always someone out there hanging on by a thread…we need to remember to be strong when others need us too.  So continue to braid those tight strings of support for your everyday relationships, and increase the quality of advisory roles we are placed in, because even though the advice given can be interrupted as harsh, or as encouragement – we all need  it… it is called a “shoulder” to lean on.  It’s how we communicate!

Even though we try to avoid it, sometimes we still ask the questions.  "Advice is what we ask for when we already know the answer but wish we didn't." (Erica Jong, How to Save Your Own Life, 1977).  –again thanks Wikipedia!

With all of the current happenings in my life (a GOOD reason why this blog is behind a week!), it had me thinking about the advice we receive if we ask for it or not…if we think we need it or not….it is there—because we do-----we need it!