One of the strangest expressions that I ever heard is “ I told you so.” It is usually said after someone gets advice, decides to act differently and ends up with an unexpected bad result. The person who gave the advice learns of the other one's predicament and says the above words with disdain which is often tainted with anger.
So what does the expression mean or in other words what is the message that was meant to be said. Perhaps it really said “ I was right and you were wrong. You should have listened to me.” or it might have said, “ I am smart. You are dumb.”
The result of all of this is that the person who says these words often inflates his ego and at the same time demeans the person to whom he speaks.
If a friendship is involved, it can cause damage which can be long lasting even after only a few of these instances.
Wouldn't it be better, if we could use our language to build rather than to injure or if we could use a situation such as this to strengthen a friendship rather than to strain it?
Maybe next time, instead of saying, “I told you so,” one might ask, “How may I help?”