Everybody’s a critic.
The shopper in the produce department of the grocery store gently squeezes an avocado, testing for ripeness. The 5-year-old wants his dad to read “Winnie-the-Pooh” at bedtime instead of “Where the Wild Things Are.”
We bring a critical eye to all sorts of stuff every single day, usually without much thought and with no harm done.
It’s when we deal with people that criticism gets sticky.
Recently, an acquaintance told me her son was called to his coach’s office, where the coach told him his bad play on the field was hurting the team. The coach offered no examples of this young man’s failures and no suggestions for improvement, nor did he attempt to soften his accusation. Instead, he threw a figurative bucket of cold water on the kid and sent him on his way, very much, I hardly need to add, confused and down in the dumps….