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We Can Change the World!
Learn a simple principle that can change forever
how you look at and experience life.
We Can Change the World!
If
I were given the power to cure one illness that haunts mankind, I would
pass up cancer, breeze by AIDS, and overlook heart disease because
curing the malady I have in mind might help cure the others as a side
effect.
The cure I would seek would be the cure for Criticism.
No
disease shrivels up the souls of innocent children, destroys the family
unit, damages the business place, incapacitates government, or produces
stress like criticism. The terrible three (criticism, judgmentalism,
and complaint) do more to dishearten the spirit and, in general create
misery, pain, and sorrow than anything else I have ever encountered.
Their use is so commonplace that, in many cases, we don’t even take
note when words of criticism are being voiced. Sitcoms find their
success in "put downs" while millions watch and laugh.
We
need to create an awareness of the damage done by blame, censure,
ridicule, judgment, complaint, condemnation, and criticism. The main
objection I hear to this statement is that criticism is needed to make
corrections.
If your comments do not ridicule, blame, shame, attack or demean someone, you are not criticizing.
If you are suggesting, instructing or in some way assisting someone,
you are using healthy methods. Encouraging and helping someone is a
form of kindness or caring. That is quite different from criticizing. I
am certain most of us know the difference between being helped and
being invalidated.
When we criticize, faces drop and spirits
sink. The criticizer announces his own loveless soul when browbeating
someone. Criticism teaches children that they are inadequate or
unlovable. Blame stops progress in the business environment and
undermines every goal. Condemnation and censure perpetuate racism and
warlike thinking. What happens to your creativity when you are under
fire?
Criticism is an excellent way to
intimidate and invalidate someone.
Why
would anyone consciously teach intolerance, start arguments, alienate
others, hurt the feelings of the people who love you, attract criticism
to himself, bring disharmony to a peaceful place, stifle the dynamics
of world unity, break up families or knowingly break people’s hearts
and wills?
Knowing that if you don’t perform you’ll be
criticized or judged creates stress and mistakes. It is widely accepted
that stress is the most common cause of disease. And haven’t we even
been told that stress kills? Isn’t this reason enough for us to examine
the motives behind criticism?
Clearly criticism confronts and opposes spiritual love.
The solution for us is to care about our own happiness and the
happiness of others enough to give up trying to make them wrong so we
can look good. We don’t have to be right!
At first, this concept sounds threatening. Believe me ....
In spite of what we’ve always been told,
we don’t have to be right all of the time!
Once we realize this, life becomes a whole lot freer and easier!
~Todd Puntolillo
Copyright © 2006 by Todd Puntolillo
All rights reserved.
No part of this book may be reproduced, copied or transmitted in any form or by any means without
written permission from the author except for approved advertising and where permitted by law.
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The Dream Maker 
