I don’t know about you, but I’m definitely one of those people that struggle with taking their own advice at times. We all do it from time to time, but why? Why is it so easy to drop words of wisdom to others, and yet, have a difficult time living by that which we know to be correct and true? The truth of the matter is this: we are human, and being human means thinking and feeling. Often times our emotions cloud our reason and judgment.
A girl or guy can tell their friends over and over to leave an abusive relationship, that it isn’t good for them while in the background they are suffering from domestic abuse themselves with their partner. Why? because their love and hopes for that person cloud their better judgement, wisdom, and logic. This is a perfect example of heart-over-head decisions, which is oftentimes why we struggle to take our own advice because we let our hearts be the driver in the seat of our lives. This is obviously not a good idea because in our flawed human nature, we often don’t feel the right things, we don’t always feel “perfectly” or what should be felt if that makes sense.
We need to put logic in front of our hearts instead of behind it; it may hurt, but it will save us a lot of trouble. Emotions are amazing, normal, and human, but we should be in control of them, not the other way around. You can tell your friends to stop smoking or stop waking up late, but if you do the same thing because “you FEEL lazy” or because “you LOVE the flavor or the feeling it brings to you”, will that make them want to follow your advice? No! It’s hypocritical and useless. We need to take control of our emotions and have them bow down to our minds. We must put logic behind every decision, not emotions. We have a brain/mind to think, we don’t think with our hearts.
New York Magazine’s The Cut , couldn’t have said it better as it states, “It’s hard to be your own adviser because you’re too close to your own problems, and so your emotions are more likely to cloud your judgment. It’s much easier to identify the most rational option, on the other hand, when you’ve got an outsider’s vantage point.”
Not taking your own advice is also a sign that you have a bad habit of caring for others more than you do yourself. We must self-reflect, and love as well as care for ourselves first before we can extend these emotions to others. I’m sure that the people you love wouldn’t want you destroying yourself while you’re saving them when you can be doing the same. If you love yourself, you’ll care about your well-being and what’s best for you. You need to love yourself equally or just as much as you love others, and you need to put into practice thinking with your head instead of with your heart.
