Thursday, January 03, 2013

Giving Advice

Lately, I've been seeing a lot of sappy, inspirational pictures on Facebook telling folks how much better off they'd be if they would just
  • quit complaining
  • trust in the Lord
  • eat right and exercise
  • be more positive
  • avoid the drama
  • do this
  • don't do that
  • surround yourself with people who are good for you
  • abandon anybody who is bad for you
  • take risks
  • be more careful
  • read more
  • etc.
Here's my response:


Handing out blanket advice for the world at large is a bit arrogant, don'tcha think? I'm sick of one-size-fits-all advice from folks who apparently think they know best. If you're going to give me advice, at least target it to my personal needs. That ought not to be hard; my faults are many. Just quit assuming that what would make the world better for you makes the world better for everybody else.

I, for example, don't mind if people complain, lack faith, eat unhealthy foods and get no exercise, have negative moments, are drama-filled and don't act like I think best. Maybe it works for them. It's certainly not up to me to try to make folks follow my vision of happiness.

Now you may feel free to tell me I'd be much happier without this complaining, negative, drama-filled post, 'coz that's targeted advice and might well be true. Or maybe I just need to share this particular Condescending Wonka on Facebook. Or maybe not. Yeah, probably better not.

4 comments:

  1. And very often, they don´t particularly follow their own advice, either...

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    Replies
    1. i think they're posting their own new year's resolutions

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  2. I think when people post these type of inspirational posters they are pointing at them selves. It's only natural to want to share something that moves you. Unless of course they send it to just you then it is accusatory.

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    Replies
    1. you're probably right. inspirational posters and conspiracy theories are what i see posted most often.

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