Say It Like You Mean It

Task 28, July 5 to July 12

"I never get tired of hearing compliments". John Lithgow

Man, it's easy to criticize. EASY. You can fall into criticism like you fall into a soft bed. It's low hanging fruit.

Some people never find nothin' good about nothin'. And they are quick to point it out.

THAT WAS ME! I lolled in criticism! I majored in it! I criticized everyone at home, everyone at work, and anyone I run into that I believed was slow, inefficient or, in my opinion, stupid. And by the way, I thought that most people were stupid. It was my worst quality. Plus, I was smart enough to be really good at it--criticizing that is. Which made me (drumroll), sort of a dick.

I was called out on it. I wasn't a jerk in a vacuum. I mean my friends and others would tell me that I was being a dick and that I should watch what I say. And more than a few people would tighten their fists and threaten to cold-cock me.

I didn't get it. Then one day I got it. How? Not because someone punched me or I caught myself being a jerk--it was because I saw someone else really rip a friend of mine. And suddenly, and with complete clarity, I realized who I was--and what I had become.

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So I'm trying to be less critical. I hold my tongue. I think before I speak. And I try to be empathetic. And once a week I pick out a person who is pissing me off for some reason and I compliment them. I find something to say that highlights their best quality, not their worst; or I talk about what they've done right, not wrong.

And you know what? It's not that difficult, even for a complete dick.

TASK:

Find the person. Find the reason. Find a compliment.