Handrails to keep you going

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Become comfortable with criticism. No matter who you are, you cannot please everyone all of the time. Sometimes the fear of criticism will imprison your common sense. What will they think of me? What will they say about me? You must realize that if you are going to reach the heights you have been called to reach, you may elicit some criticism from those who are jealous, petty or angry because they were left behind. -TD Jakes

I take slight objections to this quote which I so enumerate:


Do not become comfortable with criticism. Rather, learn to accept it and apply it as it needs to be accepted and applied.

All criticism is valuable. Really.

You’ll plenty of people coming after you who are, as TD says, jealous and so forth. This is still valuable information. You can use it in one of two ways, depending on who is doing the criticism.

If the people pointing at you are ones you admire and respect, then take what they say as an effort to help improve you.

If the people pointing at you are ones you are leaving behind, then take what they say as proof you are on the right track. Keep going.

Take both to heart.

TD says we “may” generate criticism. Dunno where he’s living these days, but he’s not in my world if he thinks in terms of probabilities. I say you WILL generate criticism from those TD so identifies.

No question.
ith the job I hold, I am criticized pretty much constantly. We who are in this business have learned to take these attacks (because that is what they are) in different ways.

Sometimes it means we’re doing our job. I’ve had people threaten to have me fired because I ran their arrest in the paper. HAR! Knock yo’self out is what I want to tell them. I’m a LOT more likely to get in trouble with my bosses for NOT running an as opposed to running an arrest.

Sometimes the complaints (because that is what they are) are justified. The story failed because one side did not get to have their say. Being fair means everyone relevant to the story gets to have their say. Doesn’t matter if you agree or not.

Sometimes the whining (because sometimes that is what they are) is done because the whiner feels they were treated differently. This may be true. It is possible the unequal treatment was given because the situations were not equal.

Remember.

All criticism is valuable because all of it serves to tell you how you are doing. Think of criticism as hand rails.

It keeps you from falling over the edge and serves to direct you down the path you want to take.