Giving Life Advice

So I've been getting emails asking me questions about life and stuff, specifically about decisions that they will have to make in the near future that will affect their future. On the one hand, I feel honoured to be on the receiving end of such questions because it makes me feel like they trust me enough to seek out my input on important things that are affecting or will be affecting their lives (assuming that these questions are truthful in some capacity, of course).

But on the other hand, it also puts me in a spot where I am seeked out for life advice, when I myself am not all that experienced a person. Sure I have gone through some ups and downs in life, but I certainly am in no position to be telling anyone what they should or should not do.

I have gone through what I have and it has equipped me with a certain worldview that I have no problem sharing with anyone who is willing to listen or read. And in response to these emails, that is all I try to do. I give them my input on the matter, being quick to admit that I do not know the full story as my knowledge of the situation is only limited to the information supplied in the email. In most cases, I do not know the sender of the email personally nor do I know their surroundings, people they care about, people they have to take into consideration as well when making a decision, circumstances that are beyond their control, etc.

So in answering any question directed towards me, I just admit to the sender what I would do if I were in their situation (or at least what I think I would do, because a lot of these situations I've never found myself in before). I'd just list down the questions that I'd ask myself before making a decision, what different answers would entail me doing, what I consider important in my life and why I would choose one thing over the next.

I try my best to not tell anyone what they should or should not do, because in doing that I feel like I place myself in an imaginary higher ground, as if I knew more than other people, as if I were wiser and less prone to making mistakes than other people, when in reality, that isn't the case at all. 

There's always a huge possibility that I am absolutely worse than the sender in making life decisions, and I always admire these people that send me these emails because they took the time and had the guts to reach out for help when they need it, and that's more than I can even ask of myself most of the times.

And so I try to help, in the capacity that I can, and give input the only way I know how, which is to put myself in their position and speak for myself. If they follow what I have to say, that's great, and it would be even better if they disagreed with what I said because they found an even better way to deal with their situation, and I'd be happy to have been able to spark that thought within their mind, the thought that was better than mine.