To you, specifically you!
It will always amaze me how one word, one phrase or one talk can outweigh the value of a thousand others. When we receive one word of negativity it can control and manipulate our entire view point of our day and in some cases life. For some people this is more ramped than others. For some this is something they will never deal with, they will be able to value encouragement and criticism on the same level. However, this is not me. I am not that man.
I wish I had the answer how to manage and value encouragement and criticism to have the happy medium. But I do not, I am a man that gets caught up in the negative and negates the positive. The effect this has had upon my character and my life is impactful. I can think of any example in which thousands of encouraging words were negated by one person tell me that, I was not good enough, I am not qualified, I am not accepted, I am not ‘cool’ or a variety of other things. We always have to be careful that we do not let these comments scar our life.
What I mean by that is this, there are millions upon millions of statements that will be told to our lives but what ones are we going to let shape our life?
Affect our thoughts?
Effect the way in which we act?
I do not hold the golden answer; I can only pose questions and hopefully make you think. For me I need to remind myself the truth about my life, surround myself with people who will not only encourage but challengers. We do not need yes people but rather, supports and empowers. People who will help you work through the negative and remind you of the positive. Who will build you up when it ‘seems’ everyone around you in trying to tear you down. This is the only advice I have; I have not done this perfectly. But I am starting to learn this is one way to combat the irrational view of criticism we can sometimes have.
Much Love,
Christian Sawka
