Receiving unsolicited advice can be very annoying if we are being honest and it’s not hard to clip the adviser short with words that are not too nice and many would agree deservedly so.Well, what other way to stop someone so annoying and relentless in passing unnecessary advice and even in more than a few cases judgment? It takes practice to respond appropriately to unsolicited counsel, but doing so is essential to safeguarding your mental health. Unwanted advice can be turned into a learning and development opportunity if you learn how to respond in a way that communicates your position clearly on the issue without causing harm.
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DO NOT TAKE IT PERSONALLY
Trying to understand that the person who is giving the advice is either trying to help or is just feeling superior might not help as much, but whatever the reason is, one thing is constant. The person is less concerned about how you feel. You can’t control the person’s mouth but you can choose not to let it affect you. The first step to dealing with it is not taking it personally.
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DO NOT RESPOND INSTANTLY
Taking a moment to breathe in and think about how you would respond to that person can make all the difference to make sure it doesn’t escalate. Try as much as possible to make sure you think through your choice of words.
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A SMILE IS ENOUGH
Perhaps you do not even need words at all. Just a smile at the adviser would suffice and you can keep going about your business. Exchanging words might just drag the issue for a lot longer than you would like and that would only upset you and fuel your anger.
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SHUT IT DOWN
Make sure to appreciate the person for the advice and let him or her know that you wouldn’t be needing any more advice from them and that kind of behavior would not be entertained any longer.
Setting limits and learning to defend oneself politely and civilly are key to dealing with unsolicited and unwelcome advice. You can ignore advice that doesn’t apply to you, or you can use good advice to make changes for the better. To move past bad advice and let go of things that don’t pertain to us, we must learn to examine the advice and the people who provide it.
