Few of us enjoy being criticized, but without honest, unflinching appraisal of our performance, personal progress is impossible.
This is why we hire trainers, coaches, or mentors who specialize in identifying the specific flaws that are holding us back and, more importantly, offering appropriate corrections.
Finding individuals who are willing to offer criticism has never been especially difficult.
Most seem perfectly willing to do it for free.
But not all critics are of equal value.
Poet and philosopher Criss Jami says:
“The motive behind criticism often determines its validity, those who care criticize where necessary. Those who envy criticize the moment they think that they have found a weak spot.”
Critics who seek to build appear to be greatly outnumbered by the ones who are simply looking for an excuse to tear others down.
This tendency to engage in gratuitous criticism has been greatly intensified by the impersonal and often anonymous nature of online communication.
Becoming a better critic means placing more value on building than we do on tearing down,
Being complainers or faultfinders creates nothing of value.
Diplomacy isn’t just a skill for government representatives negotiating the affairs of nations.
It is also the ability to deal with others without arousing feelings of hostility.
This doesn’t mean that hard facts must be ignored.
It means they must be addressed with a focus on solutions rather than a fixing of blame.
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