I recently became rather frustrated after a good friend, who was having issues with life (again), came to me for advice (again) before then ignoring it and returning to their issues without resolution.
Why do I bother? I asked myself.
It’s only then that it occurred to me: I do it because that’s what friends, relationships, and family do. If we’re giving advice with the expectation that the recipient heeds and uses our wisdom right then and there, we’re not truly giving at all.
Expecting our advice to be heeded is only feeding our own ego. It could well be the person isn’t ready to hear that advice yet, or even that we’re not the right person for them to hear it from.
How many times in life have we heard our friends or partners say they heard great advice from someone else: the same advice as we’d been giving all the time? It’s because either one of the scenarios above is in play: the wrong person and/or the wrong time.
Helping another shouldn’t come with the added weight of expectation. A person hears what they need to from another at a time that suits them, not us. The best we can do is keep our egos at bay and allow our advice to go unheard if the constellation is wrong.
As hard as it may be, we must just be pleased that they do eventually come round in their own time… or not, as the case may be. Either way, it’s perfect that way.