c/general·Posted by u/elena_v·1h ago

Why is it so easy to give my friends solid advice I never follow myself?

Last Tuesday my friend called while I was rinsing pasta. She was spiralling about a job she hates and a manager who talks over her in meetings. I told her, calmly, to write down three things she wants from the next role and to stop staying late as unpaid proof she cares. She said I made it sound simple. Then I hung up, opened my laptop, and stayed until 9:40 finishing a report nobody had asked me to rewrite. I do this constantly. Someone else's mess looks like a puzzle. Mine looks like weather I have to stand in. I can hear my own voice in my head — take the walk, send the email, go to bed — and I treat it like a suggestion for a more organised person. Do you actually take the advice you hand out, or is there a trick for closing that gap without turning it into another thing to fail at?

Peer discussion on askDr.app. Not therapy and not a substitute for professional care.