Quote:
Originally Posted by penmage
^ What krampus said (btw, that was awesome )
LOL!
Krampus' unsolicited spelling help does a great job of illustrating that there is no way to offer unsolicited help without being condescending, because you cannot know what the person knows, has tried, is trying or is intetested in doing.
I've gotten more than my fair share of condescending advice. Sometimes, I've even asked for it (without knowing the advice would be condescending).
When I was living in Illinois my doctor at the time suggested that I could lose a lot of weight simply by keeping ice cream out of the house and if I wanted icecream I'd have to leave the house to eat it, buying only one ice cream cone.
I explained that I didn't eat ice cream or any "junk food." He suggested I give up fast food. I explained that I HATED fast food.
He had no other suggestions except to hand me an outdated 1200 calorie sample monthly menu (filled with processed foods I didn't eat).
By the time I was eight years old, I had more weight loss knowledge than this physician.
My current doctor at least admits what he doesn't know. He suggested I try low-carb, but warned me not to go too low. When I asked what was too low, he admitted having no clue.
I've been experimenting ever since, and while many aspiring gurus would assume I needed lots of help because my progress is so slow to their eyes, it's fricken' fantabulous to mine, because it's success I couldn't achieve with my wealth of weight loss knowledge.
For the most part, I try to be patient with newbie converts, whether it be to religion or weight loss, but zealotry does bring out my own condescension and I want to pat them on the head and tell them how adorably annoying they are, and then share MY superior knowledge to help them become less annoying. Surprisingly, when I've done this, the recipient is almost never as grateful as I imagined they would be.