Image via WikipediaMy wife and I along with my parents and brother went to see my son's class dance at his school annual day. All the children from his class had to participate in this dance on Traffic Lights and since these children are from Lower Kindergarten (LKG), we did not expect great synchronization or a perfect output. And they did match our expectation. It was fun though, looking at all the kids dancing (while some were crying or standing still) and I thought my son did a good job! My parents, though, thought otherwise. They had a list of areas where he could have done better.
This instance made me think of times when I have been quite critical too (it runs in the genes??)! Being a person obsessed with perfection, I used to get critical of myself and others - whether it was at home, work or church. Over the course of time, I have learnt my lesson and thought I will share three simple steps that we can follow to avoid being overly critical.
Step 1: Pause - The moment you feel that you are trying to criticize somebody or something, "Pause". Pausing gives you time to understand your feelings and evaluate your actions.
Step 2: Ask - Ask yourself if this situation warrants criticism or an alternate action. Can you find anything positive about this situation?
Step 3: Act - If you can get away without criticizing a person, then just do that. If the situation demands that you have to be critical, then be critical!
So, when do you get critical of a person's actions or activities? I believe that when a person has received enough counseling, coaching, support and time from you and is still repeating an inappropriate action or activity, you can get positively critical with that person.
The next time my son does not so good coloring in his coloring book, I will Pause, Ask myself and Act appropriately!
This instance made me think of times when I have been quite critical too (it runs in the genes??)! Being a person obsessed with perfection, I used to get critical of myself and others - whether it was at home, work or church. Over the course of time, I have learnt my lesson and thought I will share three simple steps that we can follow to avoid being overly critical.
Step 1: Pause - The moment you feel that you are trying to criticize somebody or something, "Pause". Pausing gives you time to understand your feelings and evaluate your actions.
Step 2: Ask - Ask yourself if this situation warrants criticism or an alternate action. Can you find anything positive about this situation?
Step 3: Act - If you can get away without criticizing a person, then just do that. If the situation demands that you have to be critical, then be critical!
So, when do you get critical of a person's actions or activities? I believe that when a person has received enough counseling, coaching, support and time from you and is still repeating an inappropriate action or activity, you can get positively critical with that person.
The next time my son does not so good coloring in his coloring book, I will Pause, Ask myself and Act appropriately!
2 comments:
This is great to follow! Kudos to the writing! I did not get enough education. But I am glad that I was able to understand what you meant!
Thank you Karthik!
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