Giving advice is a lot easier than receving it. Telling someone that he was wrong is a lot easier than admitting that you made a mistake. Writing a timeout everyday is not easy but trying to live up to all of my timeout goals and ideas, gosh! It’s almost impossible. I know someone who is great at giving advice but when you point out some area where he can improve he gets defensive. The more you try and tell him about a mistake he made the more defensive he gets. So for that person I’ve given up trying. All of my friends have. I can’t give up on my kids though. If my son makes a mistake and I pointed it out, the first thing that comes from his lips is ’No!’ It’s a blame refusal to admit his mistake. It’s never ’Yes, daddy, you are right.’ Or ’Okay mummy, sorry.’ It’s ’No, it’s not my fault’ or ’It’s wasn’t me.’ I do the same things sometimes. Perhaps it’s human nature. Perhaps my son got his habit from me. No! It couldn’t be my fault, could it?

Talk about it

Are you good at accepting advice?

Are you quick to admit guilt?

Do you apologize quickly?

Have you ever defended your actions even though you knew you were wrong?

When you need to get something off of your chest whom do you go to?

Do you know someone maybe in your family who tends to be great at giving advice but terrible at receiving it?

Have you ever had a teacher say ’Do as I say not as I do’?

Do you give good advice to your friends and family?

What kinds of problems do people talk to you about?

How does feeling guilty affect us?

How does it feel to be blamed for something that you did not do?

Did you ever take the blame for someone else?