My Reflections

Ruined with praise or saved by criticism

PROMPT November 7th

Today's prompt is taken from a book I own. "Great Quotes From Great Leaders", published by Motorola, my employer. This one is from Norman Vincent Peale. "The trouble with most of us, is that we would rather be ruined by praise than saved by criticism." Do you feel this is a valid statement? Tell us why you feel the way you do.

For a lot of people this may be true. No one enjoys being criticized. Would you rather be taught by correction or with rewards? It is the same difference. Unfortunately, sometimes the best way for us to learn and correct our behavior is through criticism and correction.

It's great to get praised and rewarded for the good things we do. That's awesome, but we honestly need balance between the two. If all I receive is praise, how do I know when something is wrong and needs to be corrected?

The first step to correcting a problem is acknowledging there is one. You can not acknowledge that something exists if you do not have an awareness of it. This is why it is important for us to let each other know when we believe people are in the wrong. At the same time, we must remember that we mess up too. We must point out other people's wrongs with a humble attitude knowing we are no better than the other person. We must approach them with love and empathy.

In some ways I am talking to Christians, but this concept really applies to everyone. We must be careful how we dish out criticism to others. There is a thin line between constructive criticism and just plain criticism.