INSPIRATIONAL MUSINGS

— Mother Teresa

Some people make it a habit to beam the searchlight on the actions of others, they are quick to identify the wrong in the decision making processes of others just because it is convenient to do so. They appear to know something about everything in life, but give them the opportunity to walk in the shoes of the people they often criticise they will make a big mess of things. This particular topic is very interesting because it affects each and every one of us in two ways, we are either facing criticisms here and there because of the work we do or we are

guilty of criticising others unjustly.

What is criticism?

In order not to bore anyone with long definitions, it simply means disapproval or fault finding, it also means censure or condemnation. The word I find most interesting of all the meanings is "censure." Most critics are in the habit of censuring every move. It"s as if every move of yours requires condemnation, they will attack whatever it is you do, whether there is a need for it or not, these types of critics are the worst you can have around you, there is nothing you can do to please them. On the other hand, we need to understand that there are different types of criticisms, not all types of criticisms are bad, some are borne out of genuine concern, as we look into the different types of criticisms, it will give us a clearer picture of the kind of criticisms we should ignore or the ones we should pay attention to.

Types of Criticisms We Need to Look into

1. Positive Criticism:
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This is the type of criticism every right thinking person should look forward to, it is growth inclined, it is needed to spuroneon, it is genuine and good. This type of criticism is the one offered out of genuine concern, out of love, it usually comes from people who wished you did well. These are people who believe that it isn"t in their best interest to see you fail, so they correct you in the hope that you listen and put things the right way.

2. Negative Criticism:

Some people will never like you, no matter how much you try, they might not like your face, or your background, or your dress sense. These are the ones called impulsive critics. Impulsive critics are the apostles of negative criticism, they criticise on impulse, they criticise with no forethought, they hardly think things they criticise you on properly, there"s no substance whatsoever in their criticisms of you. Negative criticism is actually harmless to people with substance, they wave such off with not much of concern. Most times, negative criticisms come from people who don"t even understand the issues, they are propelled by sentiments and there"s no way to convince them other than to smile and continue with your course of action.

3. Constructive Criticism: This is the type of criticism that is critical to the success of whatever you are doing. It comes mostly from your co- travellers, people who are on the same course with you. People who can"t afford to see you fail or go down, because if you do, they will go down as well. It is dangerous to ignore criticisms of this type because it might just signal the end of whatever it is you are working on. What is important is to lay the options on the table and look at how best to put things right whilst still maintaining the structure of your plans.

4. Destructive Criticism:

This type is the one to be very wary of. Criticisms of this type come from your enemies. It is designed to bring out the worst from your project. This comes from people who will benefit from your failure. These are people who have vested interests in the opposite of what you do that brought about the criticism in the first place. The attacks from them are moulded in ways to bring you down because they won"t relax till you fall. What you do about this type of criticisms is to respond with achievements, ignore them completely if necessary and maintain your focus, on the long run the success of your project silences them.

5. Theoretical Criticism:

This type comes from people who haven"t walked in your shoes before but they are wannabes, they raise points from books they have read or doc.u.mentaries they have watched. They are mostly well informed but completely inexperienced. One might be tempted to ignore whatever they say or write altogether but you can decide to reply them only when it is very necessary because they usually command a strong followership because of their intellectual prowess, they are not completely to be ignored like the negative critics, but do not pay too much attention to what they say as well.

6. Practical Criticism:

If there"s any type of criticism you must pay attention to 100 percent, it is this one because it comes from people who have travelled on the same path you are currently travelling, they have walked in your shoes before and they walked well. You can pay 100 percent attention to their criticisms but you don"t need to implement whatever they suggest totally since you have to carry out your own plans as well, but don"t be tempted to ignore what they have to offer, you can do so to your own peril, listen to what they have to say, knock heads together with them and see how you can do things better than they did.

Leadership and Criticism

A leader needs critics around to tell him or her truth always, because most times leaders are surrounded by sycophants who are bent on retaining their jobs so they will most often than not be economical with the truth. It"s just the basic truth regardless of how you may wish things were. Not withstanding, a leader can"t function when he or she listens to every form of criticism, nothing will happen under such circ.u.mstances, so you just have to press the ignore b.u.t.ton and continue to maintain focus on the task ahead.

There are two things you do when you attend to needless criticisms all the time you either waste your time explaining yourself to people who don"t have your genuine interest at heart or you expend your energy trying to dance to their tune, and when you do this you lose focus and make mistakes. The six types of criticisms come in to play here, before you get disturbed in anyway about condemnation or attacks from negative quarters, remember to observe the motive behind the verbal attacks.

Thank you!