TASK #43: WHEN I SAY IT, I MEAN IT
“I never get tired of hearing compliments”. John Lithgow
Man, it’s easy to criticize. Easy. You can fall into criticism like you fall into a soft bed. It’s low hanging fruit.
Man, it’s easy to criticize. Easy. You can fall into criticism like you fall into a soft bed. It’s low hanging fruit.
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Some people never find nothing good about nothing. And they are quick to point it out.
I’m no better… I criticize everyone in my life, everyone at work, and anyone I run into that I believe is slow, inefficient or, in my opinion, stupid. It’s my worst quality. Plus, I’m smart enough to be really good at it–criticizing that is. So I’m good at it, and that makes me a prick.
And I was called out on it. I mean my friends and others would tell me that I was being a dick and that I should watch what I say. And more than a few people would tighten their fists and threaten to cold-cock me.
I didn’t get it. Then one day I got it. How? Not because someone punched me or I caught myself being a jerk–it was because I saw someone else really rip a friend of mine. And suddenly, and with complete clarity, I realized who I was–and what I had become.
So I’m trying to be less critical. I hold my tongue. I think before I speak. And I try to be empathetic. And once a week I pick out a person who is pissing me off for some reason and I compliment them. I find something to say that highlights their best quality, not their worst; or I talk about what they’ve done right, not wrong.
And you know what? It’s not that difficult, even for a complete dick.
TASK
Find the person. Find the reason. And find a compliment.
Photos by the author and rawpixel on Unsplash