Dear Readers, I find it on my heart today to talk to you about advice and venting.

When a friend reaches out to talk to you, don’t make my mistake… “they are asking me about their issues, so OF COURSE they want my advice”…

I have, in the past, offered unsolicited advice and realized too late.. they just wanted to vent.. an that gets awkward.. super fast..

It was then that I realized, sometimes people want to vent, and are NOT looking for advice, in that instance, your job is to listen and be a shoulder. Sometimes they want advice. More often, they want to vent, and don’t want your opinion or advice. I have found it’s just easier to ask, “do you want my advice or do you want to vent” and it’s REALLY hard for me to WAIT and LISTEN to the answer but I am working on it. I am CHOCK FULL OF ADVICE!! I mean, let’s face it, I am a career coach so I have advice on how to fix your resume, how to get that job, how to lose weight and how to fix your finances all yours for the taking.. but the crucial thing is, to know when to dole out advice and when to shut up and listen.

Sometimes the answer is both or I am not really sure yet. All acceptable and great ways of setting a boundary.

THINK ABOUT IT!