Some days are Sunny, others are a B*tch

30 day Blogging-Nov 7, 2021

PROMPT November 7th

Today's prompt is taken from a book I own. "Great Quotes From Great Leaders", published by Motorola, my employer. This one is from Norman Vincent Peale. "The trouble with most of us, is that we would rather be ruined by praise than saved by criticism." Do you feel this is a valid statement? Tell us why you feel the way you do.

Of course, isn’t that what the ego naturally wants? Praise builds our self esteem at the moment. It is like a dopamine high that we can feed on. Nothing makes a person feel more important than the five stars for something you put up on WDC. Of course most of us like to be “nice” people and make others feel good also. Applause drives actors, authors, politicians, almost everyone wants to be wrapped up in that public “love”.

High school was easy for me and I never had to work very hard to keep a B average. Most of my teachers didn't really challenge us and I couldn't wait to start college. I graduated before my class because I had the credits. I did take a year of junior college courses but then I married. By the time I went back I had a toddler and was working. The nursing program was very hard but so interesting. The instructors were old school and there was so much to learn. I had never been criticized like I was in clinical practice, sometimes in front of patients or physicians. You learned from it because it made you a better professional. Once you graduated and had a team of people working under you and lots of very sick patients, you appreciated those great women you had called some terrible names.

It’s so much easier to give your children hugs and toys they want than it is to actually teach them to how to help others through skills and working towards a goal. It is like earning stars at writing. First you have to actually learn some skills like grammar, punctuation, building a plot and characters, POV, etc. Even if you are lucky enough to be one of those people that the art of writing seems to flow easily through. Most of us write and edit and edit some more. Then if you really want to know how you are progressing you find one of our published / seasoned writers and ask them to read it. You probably won’t get five stars but lots of great advice. I have asked for reviews that were a page long with suggestions. Thank you so much for making me grow into a better writer.

I have always enjoyed Norman Vincent Peale’s writings. My Mom gave me one of his books when I was very young. Interesting the words he uses in the quote about being “ruined” by praise than “saved” by criticism. Praise is like the candy that destroys your teeth eventually although most of us crave it. Criticism backed by knowledge always means growth and that is what we all should strive for. Isn’t that what makes us feel complete as productive human beings?

Have a great day!