How many compliments do you think it takes to undo, or at least counter-balance one negative critical comment?
All of them. And it still won’t do it.
If you are standing with 1000 people in front of you in a single file line. They all take turns saying something nice and complimentary to you, except for one person, one person says something critical. That critical remark will stick in your heart and you will carry it with you forever.
This is important to realize in two ways. First, when someone says something that it hurtful, remember that it is only one person … one comment … not the end of the world. Second, when you are tempted to say something that might be hurtful to someone else, keep in mind that they will remember a critical word long after they have forgotten anything else you have said to them. Speak the truth, but only with kindness, grace and love.
Critical words are like sin. Short of the blood of Jesus, they can stick forever.
May 21st, 2008 at 9:06 pm
I know. Simon is the best part of American Idol. He’s my favorite part, too. It’s fun for me to watch him shred the egos of the talentless hacks on International TV. But, think about it … what are they going to remember, Paula saying “I thought it was nice” or the brutal truth that Simon spoke?
I’m not saying anything is wrong with what Simon does. I just think we should try to be more kind, gracious and loving to the people in our real lives.
May 23rd, 2008 at 8:32 am
From William Shatner:
On September 8, 1966, for the first time we entered “Space: The Final Frontier”. The reviews were not great. Showbusiness magazine Variety said: “William Shatner . . . appears wooden.”
Wooden? Me, wooden? Not that I took it personally, of course.
I barely even remember reading that review, sitting at the kitchen table on a rainy morning, eating three eggs while Gloria, dressed in a pale green cotton top, got our daughters ready for school.
As a professional actor, those things don’t bother me. And that review has continued to not bother me for more than four decades.