First. I really like OMSH. I think she’s courageous, amazing, beautiful, etc. etc. etc. Also, she’s real. Her blog isn’t an endless series of blissful days spent basking in the perfection of her life. Don’t misunderstand me here. I’ve yet to read a disparaging word from her about her husband or kids, but I’m guessing that’s because she prefers not to air her dirty laundry. Some people could take lessons about that, and by “some people” I mean “me”. But I digress.
At any rate, I’ve been following her weight loss journey, and I admit that she’s another person who inspired me to share my own journey. (Hey, kara_called? Yeah, you. You’re the other one, as you know.) BUT I read OMSH’s post on Monday, and it got me thinking a little. While I love the fact that she’s honest about what she’s thinking and feeling, I want to sort of discuss something she said. I also wanted to do it in my own forum so as not to eat up her valuable comment space. :grin: I also wanted to take some time to really think about this to make sure this was my genuine opinion on the matter, rather than a knee-jerk reaction because I do the same thing.
She was talking about how she blows off the advice of people who have never had to lose weight and how she believes that’s her own pride talking. (That was a very, very basic summary, and probably you should go read the whole post so you can point out how I read it wrong. :grin:) Now, while I agree with her that every person has value, I completely disagree that every person’s opinion on every topic has to have value to every person with whom they’re sharing that opinion. Boy, that was clear as mud, wasn’t it?
Time for an example. Let’s say my friend, Lisa, has lost a bunch of weight from diet and exercise. My other friend, Renee, has never had a weight issue in her life. Now when I’m getting weight loss tips to apply to my own life, Lisa’s advice is going to carry more weight (HEEEE!). Why? Because she’s done it. She has actual experience. Does this make Renee less valuable? No. Does it make her advice less helpful? Depends. Does it mean that she cannot know what I’m going through? I think so.
I guess what I’m trying to say here is that I don’t think there’s anything wrong with saying, “This person hasn’t had X, Y or Z life experience, so they don’t understand the problem in the same way another person who has had X, Y or Z life experience does.” I’m not saying that you have to experience X, Y or Z to have an opinion on what you’d do or to be able to sympathize or anything of that nature. What I am saying is that I don’t think it’s necessarily a bad thing to give greater merit to the opinions of those who have had X, Y or Z experience than those who haven’t.
Tags: health · oh my stinkin heckComments
