Where’s the value in criticism?
After all, taking criticism can put you in a funk.
Today GenuLines unpacks this thing called criticism and gives you some ways to put it on your side.
(click on the image below to listen to the article or scroll down to read)
Find The Value In Criticism
The concept of value is kind of unusual when you think about it. Most every person on earth has a different system when it comes to determining what’s important.
In general, the three things that we tend to value the most include our lives, our families and our jobs. And within each of those aspects, everyone will, again, have a very different value system.
And what is that system based on? What gives value to something?
(continue reading)
Often it’s determined by your upbringing, your experiences, and your education. This sets you apart from others.
And it touches off more than a few debates.
But who says those debates and differences have to be bad things?
You may meet someone who has the same values as you do, but there are still plenty of possible areas of disagreement. We all have different experiences and we all bring a different point of view to a relationship.
Value and Respect
Now let’s say that you have great respect for someone. Each of you has the same values in life.
You know their past. You could even say that you respect their opinion.
Now ask yourself if you would respect their criticism? Would you keep an open mind when it came to their critique of your work?
Is it only because you know them?
Why is it that we’ll value the criticism of a friend, but we’re quick to shy away from the criticism of a stranger? Don’t they hold the same value?
Could be it’s the mere fact that they don’t know us, they don’t know our experiences. But in reality, you don’t know their experiences or level of expertise either.
All too often we seem to equate the word value with respect. In some way, this seems to justify ignoring the opinions of someone we don’t know.
Or it could be that for personal reasons, we don’t care what their opinion is.
Does not knowing someone well mean we have to find no value or worth in their opinion? I mean, in the final analysis, criticism is an opinion.
What if we could find value in every opinion, of every criticism we ever received? Imagine how enriched our lives would be if we could put value to everyone’s opinion.
No matter who it’s coming from.
JohnK 2-11-2020
Overheard: “The trouble with most of us is that we’d rather be ruined by praise than saved by criticism.” ~Norman Vincent Peale
Article image by Gerd Altmann from Pixabay
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