There are those who feel compelled to share ‘gyaan’ on how to live life: not their own, but yours and mine! They are the judgemental strangers you shared a train compartment with, the old uncle you rarely ever meet, the colleague who barely knows you. They are the know-it-alls who want you to live life upon their advice… advice you neither wanted nor asked for!
There are those who make a whole lot of assumptions about you, your life, your thoughts, emotions and motivations… and proceed to give you advice based on their misguided judgements.
They have never met you before, and won’t ever again in their life, but they will feel constrained to tell you how to behave, think, feel and talk.
There is something about meeting a pregnant woman that brings out the wisdom in everyone… those who have never been pregnant, those who were pregnant 50 years ago and even 50% of the population that is never, ever going to be pregnant (read men).
Everyone seems to feel qualified to tell you how you should be bringing up your kids: people who don’t seem to have done a very good job of parenting and have badly behaved, maladjusted kids for instance. Sometimes you may even get parenting advice from those who have no kids!
They will tell you how compromise is the bedrock of good relationships or how self-sacrifice is virtuous; why you must work on and accept even a bad relationship. On the other hand are those who tell you that the other person is toxic and that you're better off without them… without ever having met them!
This is when a man feels obliged to explain to a woman what her problems are and how she should deal with them. These are problems that he doesn’t have even nodding acquaintance with... dealing with PMS, or menopause mood swings for instance.
This one is fraught with peril! Firstly because it presumes to tell someone that they need to lose weight; that they must be wanting to lose weight. Secondly it presumes to know all about your lifestyle, health and metabolism!
Some people want to express their disapproval about your life choices and offer criticism about stuff that is really none of their business. Their ‘advice’ is just a roundabout way to denigrate and belittle.
It may be in the form of a story or a suggestion. There are times when a universal fact of life could apply to your life and mine. It can make sense to take note.
Sometimes kids have the most incisive observations to make. At times it is standup comedians who have words of wisdom for us. Maybe not all solicited advice is bad?
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