Love Your Critics!
Who’s keeping you small? Who’s convinced you to hide?
Along the way we were shot down, criticized or even laughed at and we internalized that experience. We ingested that voice and eventually, it took root in our psyche. Now, it echoes in our head every time we think about putting ourselves out there, making a splash, and having an impact. Think about how much beauty and how much greatness we deprive the world of because of that voice.
There is an alternative. It’s an entire self-help book in one line and it was uttered more than 2500 years ago:
“…Reprove a wise man and he will love you”. (Proverbs 9:8)
Two aspects of this pearl:
- A wise person loves his critics because they embolden him. He says: “You critics can’t get me off your mind! You notice me and you care enough to say something! I am relevant to you! Thank you for gifting me with your time and energy”!
- A wise person loves his critics because they improve him. He says: “You critics see things that I can’t, and I want to hear about it. If I agree with you then I’ll change, otherwise I’ll just ignore you, but I do appreciate you giving me your time and energy.”
That’s all there is to it.
The world needs to hear from you. All of you. So, look forward to hearing from your critics: Remember, they are either telling you that you matter or helping you get better. Either way, you’ve got to love them for it.
