Wisdom and Guidance Part Two

In my last blog and Wisdom Notes I talked about how people are asking for support/help and advice.    (https://www.sharonshores.com/wisdomand-guidance/ )  At the end of the article I talked about guidelines for supporting/helping/giving advice to others.

Here are 10 guidelines:  (Note there may be more-feel free to share more; send to me at sharon@sharonshores.com)

#1. If you are NOT on a journey of personal discovery and self- development then do NOT go down this path and think you can help others.  If the last book you read and applied was in high school then PLEASE do not even consider this.

#2. Ask:  “Am I coming from a place of “I know better than you”.  If this is so, then do NOT go down this path.

#3. Ask:  “Am I coming from a place of judgement about others and where they “should” be?  Then do NOT go down this path!

#4. If you have something challenging going on in your own life it may not be the best time to give advice to others.

For example: There was a recent period of time in my life where I was going through helping family members with my son-in-law’s dying process.  It was during this time I rescheduled sessions with clients because I knew I could not be fully available for my clients.

#5. Meditate, pray; ask for guidance from a higher power before working with people.  If we/I ever think that it’s about me/us I believe we are off base.

#6.  If people do not ask; do not offer!   If you are giving unsolicited advice-you may have a tendency to want to prove yourself.

#7. Hold people capable –when we hold others capable we are encouraging them to tap into their resources.   When we hold others capable they are more likely to be accountable to themselves.

#8. Ask questions! Lots of them!  Questions encourage others to find the answers for themselves.

#9. Present solutions in the form of a question.  Examples:  “Have you thought of this____?”  “What do you think about this idea?”

#10.  Provide resources such as books, websites etc. For example:  I often suggest the book “What to say When you Talk to Yourself” by Shad Helmstetter.

Share any additional suggestions by sending them to me at sharon@sharonshores.com