We have all been in a situation where our minds have left us blank and we therefore, sought advice from a friend, co-worker, family member, or even a stranger.
Whether its about a break-up, a fight with a friend, or not getting into the grad school you wanted to, we've all done it.
For some cases the advice may have been just what you needed to re-lift your spirits and get you motivated again.
In other instances you may be thankful for the advice given but you are just not ready to take the leap of faith and do what you know you need to do.
This can be frustrating for the person offering you their time and energy to try to help but only you can heal yourself.
You can ask the entire planet for advice and the 8 billion people that inhabit this Earth can tell you the same exact thing but until you are ready to take the advice it isn't going to help.
You have to be physically, mentally, and emotionally ready just to start opening up your mind and listening to what your best friend, mom, or whoever you seek advice from is telling you.
You may have known all along that the advice to break up with him or quit the job you've hated for two years was spot on but you weren't ready to let go and move on and there is no shame in that.
That is why "advice" is defined as "guidance or recommendations" not "laws and requirements."
You have to learn on your own how to stop loving him, how to stop caring about your shitty job you've invested so much time into, or how to end a long-term friendship that is taking a toxic turn.
If you are the friend, co-worker, family member, or stranger, remember how you felt when you weren't ready to take another's advice and learn to be patient.
Learn to be indifferent in whether it is taken or not.
Learn that you are offering advice from your own personal life experiences and that it may not be parallel to another's difficulty.
Learn that this advice is a simple offer and not a law the seeker must follow.
Learn that you are not the one that has to live with the results that come from the decisions made during your advice seeker's difficult time and your advice may not be what the seeker wanted to live with.
If you are the person seeking advice know that it is okay to ask for advice and not have the guts to take it just yet.
Know that you must be patient with yourself.
Know that it will take time to learn from the advice given and eventually act upon it.
Know that you don't even have to take the advice at all.
Know that if you decide to not take the advice and it comes back to haunt you that this is all a part of your own life experience and you will become stronger from it.
Don't let anyone make you feel less because you didn't follow their advice and it didn't turn out well.
Advice is advice.
Nothing anyone can say will solve your problems.
Only you can convince yourself that it is okay to allow yourself to break up with him, end the friendship, or quit that shitty job and begin healing.
You are not a broken down car or a flat tire.
No one can fix you. Only you can heal or fix yourself.
