Criticism
Hi and Welcome to the A & J PEI Treasures E Jean Simpson Author Blog Post and Podcast. I’m your host, Jean coming to you from the beautiful Province of Prince Edward Island, Canada!! The blog post and podcast is an opinion piece and only reflects this author’s opinion and not that of any other entity. I hold no designations in politics, economics or medicine. I am retired from the mental health field. I am a humanitarian and speak from that viewpoint only. Whether you agree with me or not, at least I hope it makes you think. This week I talk about criticism and how it is useful but sometimes overused. If you want to find out more, then stay tuned…!
My favourite place to start with discussing most complicated topics is to give the definition. The reason for this is that often people have ideas as to what the word means that have no bearing on the actual meaning. This gives a clear starting point for any discussion. There are two definitions of criticism. One is literary based and so I’m going to leave that one out since it gets a bit more complicated. I’m sticking with the simple definition. So, in this case criticism is defined as “the act of saying that something or someone is bad” https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dict.... This is as simple a definition as one can find. Often society has a habit of only telling people when they have done something which they think is ‘bad’ or ‘wrong’. How often do they tell people they’ve done something right? Now with online reviews, there is a little more positive out there. But, most often people tend to write a company when they are unhappy with their service. People tend to leave feedback when it is something immediate on a timeline when it is something they don’t like. Often, on places like Twitter or news stories, I try not to read the comments too much. It seems any time I do, I find at least 1/5 of them are either negative comments on some group or subject they decide isn’t to their liking or some advertisement for some product that has nothing to do with the article at all. Sometimes it is like some people just want to put something there whether or not it helps, acknowledges or adds to the conversation.
There are articles and videos on how to deal with criticism…https://www.wikihow.com/Deal-With-Cri... being just one. Many imagine that it is there to be ‘constructive’. Constructive criticism seems also to be rare. Often it is just a way of trying to fail people. Worse yet, they suggest to ignore destructive criticism without a true definition of or way to determine which is destructive. The other problem is destructive criticism is often in the eye of the beholder and so it gets complicated. Sometimes it isn’t even directed at the person. Sometimes it is just an instructive thing. I have to admit criticism does have its place in the universe and generally can have some use. However, I think first, we need to school ourselves on how to leave criticism before assuming what kind it is. On the plus side, there is possibility of schooling oneself on how to leave constructive criticism. Most people don’t see the need for educating oneself on this topic. They think they already know how to do it. https://www.valamis.com/hub/construct.... It is often hard to make sure that destructive criticism is not left. It is harder than most people think. I sometimes find myself backing out something I want to say because it occurs to me that it might be taken more than one way. I also find myself qualifying something I say for the same reason. I have to admit, I’m not always perfectly clean in making my comments. Who is? I prefer the positive feedback to the negative when given the choice. It’s not a perfect art and one must continually walk a fine line. Twitter makes this harder by having a word/letter limit. Personally, I often feel there is too much negative feedback online already. To leave more is not going to improve the situation. I like to keep it light. From time to time, I am struck by a statement that triggers me. This is often due to unfairness of the statement. Truth is sometimes abrasive and not always the right thing. However, lies are not acceptable either. The overall truth is that sometimes no matter how helpful or kind the intention, someone will have issues that you know nothing about and it will trigger a reaction. It does not become the fault of anyone. If the person with the trigger understands where the trigger comes from and why it is a trigger for them, then they know they have to ride it out and it doesn’t become someone else’s fault. Part of criticism makes it important to also know what your responsibility is and what is not. This too is difficult because at what point does humanity and single-hood stop being one’s responsibility. You are not responsible for other people’s triggers, though it is more pleasant when they are not set up. You are responsible for what you say or do. When I am in doubt, I often post a warning that it might upset some sensitive viewers and sometimes not. However, even then, you cannot guarantee that something that seems quite innocuous will not trigger something for another person. That’s what makes communications hard. It’s what makes life more difficult. The definition of constructive criticism from the article I note above is “Constructive criticism is actionable, clear, and beneficial to the recipient. It does not focus solely on the negative aspects. Rather than tearing something down, constructive criticism focuses on improving it.” (https://www.valamis.com/hub/construct...) Now try to fit all that in 280 characters on Twitter. Look it up on Google…it suggests that is the limit. So to be honest, I don’t see anything to criticize in most of the pages I follow…so often just keep it light and hope to get a few laughs and maybe lighten someone’s day.
I think my most favourite ever example of criticism and its importance can be summed up by this article https://myq105.com/2021/05/28/kiss-sh.... I remember it every time I see criticisms. The critic told KISS more or less not to quit their day jobs. He talks about how KISS won’t be around long. That was in 1974 and they are making the choice to step down despite being one of the best and most known bands on the planet. Sorry other bands. KISS has been my favourite for a long time. They give amazing shows, they love their fans and they always give it their best. I wish them all the best with their future projects. Happy ‘retirement’ Gentlemen! I put it in quotes as they have other projects they are working on so ‘retirement’ is just a word. I do love other bands…my heart is taken by some of them…but come on…KISS has its own army. They accomplished all this after not giving up after the terrible 1974 review. So criticism does have its place. But, if you let it rule your life, you will have trouble.
When it comes to criticism, I was attracted to this quote attributed to Paul J. Meyer “Crystallize your goals. Make a plan for achieving them and set yourself a deadline. Then, with supreme confidence, determination and disregard for obstacles and other people's criticisms carry out your plan.” The people who make it are the ones that take criticism into account and critically assess the content and move forward better armed or who know which criticism to follow and which to discard. These are the ones that benefit from the first and aren’t crushed by the second. There is no real formula for what to accept or what to reject. Some reject nearly all criticism and spin their wheels. Some take all criticism and are destroyed by it. The right balance is difficult to achieve.
“Persecution is the first law of society because it is always easier to suppress criticism than to meet it.” Howard Mumford Jones. This may explain a lot of what goes on in society. It can, at least help, in part, to explain the religious intolerance, the lack of unity and the hatred of other. People feel they must suppress that which makes them uncomfortable. We have to acknowledge that discomfort is all part of criticism and interestingly enough creativity as well, I was fascinated to see what John Cleese had to say on discomfort and creativity. “…the most creative people have learned to tolerate that discomfort for much longer. And so, just because they put in more pondering time, their solutions are more creative.” If you want to get more information on his thoughts on the subject, the following link has the transcript. https://jamesclear.com/great-speeches....” So, to benefit from both criticism and creativity, one must be willing to sit with the discomfort it creates.
I think the part of criticism that is crucial to focus on is the evaluation of the information or criticism. It’s also imperative to consider thoughts that make you want to think. Just because something wasn’t directed specifically to you does not mean it isn’t a valid criticism nor that the information cannot be assimilated into your psyche. I was rather struck by the Cleese quote as it made me think. I found it wonderfully instructional. So being on the lookout for lessons that you can assimilate into your daily life can help you work toward being a better rounded and more grounded person. Whether you agree with me or not, I hope it makes you think. Thanks for listening to my podcast and/or reading my blog post and thanks for your interest in A & J PEI Treasures! Keep watching because we’re always working on something. Thank you!
The podcast that matches this blog post can be found on Anchor FM: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/sh...
Blog Posts are available on
WordPress: https://aandjpeitreasures.wordpress.com/ and
GoodReads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show...
Podcast are available on:
Anchor FM in a variety of formats: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/sh...
iHeart Radio: https://www.iheart.com/podcast/269-e-...
Podchaser: https://www.podchaser.com/podcasts/e-... name a few
All my e-books can be found on:
Smashwords (my Affiliate link): https://www.smashwords.com/profile/vi...
You can also find us on:
Twitter: https://twitter.com/EJS08026749
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC5zp...
Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.ca/ej2466
LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/in/e-j-s-151a...
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AndrewAandJP...
My favourite place to start with discussing most complicated topics is to give the definition. The reason for this is that often people have ideas as to what the word means that have no bearing on the actual meaning. This gives a clear starting point for any discussion. There are two definitions of criticism. One is literary based and so I’m going to leave that one out since it gets a bit more complicated. I’m sticking with the simple definition. So, in this case criticism is defined as “the act of saying that something or someone is bad” https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dict.... This is as simple a definition as one can find. Often society has a habit of only telling people when they have done something which they think is ‘bad’ or ‘wrong’. How often do they tell people they’ve done something right? Now with online reviews, there is a little more positive out there. But, most often people tend to write a company when they are unhappy with their service. People tend to leave feedback when it is something immediate on a timeline when it is something they don’t like. Often, on places like Twitter or news stories, I try not to read the comments too much. It seems any time I do, I find at least 1/5 of them are either negative comments on some group or subject they decide isn’t to their liking or some advertisement for some product that has nothing to do with the article at all. Sometimes it is like some people just want to put something there whether or not it helps, acknowledges or adds to the conversation.
There are articles and videos on how to deal with criticism…https://www.wikihow.com/Deal-With-Cri... being just one. Many imagine that it is there to be ‘constructive’. Constructive criticism seems also to be rare. Often it is just a way of trying to fail people. Worse yet, they suggest to ignore destructive criticism without a true definition of or way to determine which is destructive. The other problem is destructive criticism is often in the eye of the beholder and so it gets complicated. Sometimes it isn’t even directed at the person. Sometimes it is just an instructive thing. I have to admit criticism does have its place in the universe and generally can have some use. However, I think first, we need to school ourselves on how to leave criticism before assuming what kind it is. On the plus side, there is possibility of schooling oneself on how to leave constructive criticism. Most people don’t see the need for educating oneself on this topic. They think they already know how to do it. https://www.valamis.com/hub/construct.... It is often hard to make sure that destructive criticism is not left. It is harder than most people think. I sometimes find myself backing out something I want to say because it occurs to me that it might be taken more than one way. I also find myself qualifying something I say for the same reason. I have to admit, I’m not always perfectly clean in making my comments. Who is? I prefer the positive feedback to the negative when given the choice. It’s not a perfect art and one must continually walk a fine line. Twitter makes this harder by having a word/letter limit. Personally, I often feel there is too much negative feedback online already. To leave more is not going to improve the situation. I like to keep it light. From time to time, I am struck by a statement that triggers me. This is often due to unfairness of the statement. Truth is sometimes abrasive and not always the right thing. However, lies are not acceptable either. The overall truth is that sometimes no matter how helpful or kind the intention, someone will have issues that you know nothing about and it will trigger a reaction. It does not become the fault of anyone. If the person with the trigger understands where the trigger comes from and why it is a trigger for them, then they know they have to ride it out and it doesn’t become someone else’s fault. Part of criticism makes it important to also know what your responsibility is and what is not. This too is difficult because at what point does humanity and single-hood stop being one’s responsibility. You are not responsible for other people’s triggers, though it is more pleasant when they are not set up. You are responsible for what you say or do. When I am in doubt, I often post a warning that it might upset some sensitive viewers and sometimes not. However, even then, you cannot guarantee that something that seems quite innocuous will not trigger something for another person. That’s what makes communications hard. It’s what makes life more difficult. The definition of constructive criticism from the article I note above is “Constructive criticism is actionable, clear, and beneficial to the recipient. It does not focus solely on the negative aspects. Rather than tearing something down, constructive criticism focuses on improving it.” (https://www.valamis.com/hub/construct...) Now try to fit all that in 280 characters on Twitter. Look it up on Google…it suggests that is the limit. So to be honest, I don’t see anything to criticize in most of the pages I follow…so often just keep it light and hope to get a few laughs and maybe lighten someone’s day.
I think my most favourite ever example of criticism and its importance can be summed up by this article https://myq105.com/2021/05/28/kiss-sh.... I remember it every time I see criticisms. The critic told KISS more or less not to quit their day jobs. He talks about how KISS won’t be around long. That was in 1974 and they are making the choice to step down despite being one of the best and most known bands on the planet. Sorry other bands. KISS has been my favourite for a long time. They give amazing shows, they love their fans and they always give it their best. I wish them all the best with their future projects. Happy ‘retirement’ Gentlemen! I put it in quotes as they have other projects they are working on so ‘retirement’ is just a word. I do love other bands…my heart is taken by some of them…but come on…KISS has its own army. They accomplished all this after not giving up after the terrible 1974 review. So criticism does have its place. But, if you let it rule your life, you will have trouble.
When it comes to criticism, I was attracted to this quote attributed to Paul J. Meyer “Crystallize your goals. Make a plan for achieving them and set yourself a deadline. Then, with supreme confidence, determination and disregard for obstacles and other people's criticisms carry out your plan.” The people who make it are the ones that take criticism into account and critically assess the content and move forward better armed or who know which criticism to follow and which to discard. These are the ones that benefit from the first and aren’t crushed by the second. There is no real formula for what to accept or what to reject. Some reject nearly all criticism and spin their wheels. Some take all criticism and are destroyed by it. The right balance is difficult to achieve.
“Persecution is the first law of society because it is always easier to suppress criticism than to meet it.” Howard Mumford Jones. This may explain a lot of what goes on in society. It can, at least help, in part, to explain the religious intolerance, the lack of unity and the hatred of other. People feel they must suppress that which makes them uncomfortable. We have to acknowledge that discomfort is all part of criticism and interestingly enough creativity as well, I was fascinated to see what John Cleese had to say on discomfort and creativity. “…the most creative people have learned to tolerate that discomfort for much longer. And so, just because they put in more pondering time, their solutions are more creative.” If you want to get more information on his thoughts on the subject, the following link has the transcript. https://jamesclear.com/great-speeches....” So, to benefit from both criticism and creativity, one must be willing to sit with the discomfort it creates.
I think the part of criticism that is crucial to focus on is the evaluation of the information or criticism. It’s also imperative to consider thoughts that make you want to think. Just because something wasn’t directed specifically to you does not mean it isn’t a valid criticism nor that the information cannot be assimilated into your psyche. I was rather struck by the Cleese quote as it made me think. I found it wonderfully instructional. So being on the lookout for lessons that you can assimilate into your daily life can help you work toward being a better rounded and more grounded person. Whether you agree with me or not, I hope it makes you think. Thanks for listening to my podcast and/or reading my blog post and thanks for your interest in A & J PEI Treasures! Keep watching because we’re always working on something. Thank you!
The podcast that matches this blog post can be found on Anchor FM: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/sh...
Blog Posts are available on
WordPress: https://aandjpeitreasures.wordpress.com/ and
GoodReads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show...
Podcast are available on:
Anchor FM in a variety of formats: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/sh...
iHeart Radio: https://www.iheart.com/podcast/269-e-...
Podchaser: https://www.podchaser.com/podcasts/e-... name a few
All my e-books can be found on:
Smashwords (my Affiliate link): https://www.smashwords.com/profile/vi...
You can also find us on:
Twitter: https://twitter.com/EJS08026749
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC5zp...
Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.ca/ej2466
LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/in/e-j-s-151a...
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AndrewAandJP...
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A & J PEI Treasures/E Jean Simpson, BEd, BA, MA
A & J PEI Treasures is located on Prince Edward Island, Canada. We are a husband and wife team and our companion animals. There are a number of things that drew us to the Island…one of which was the n
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