Some people, it seems, have been walking the earth as full-time fault inspectors.
You initiate something… They materialize with their doubts.
You express your happiness… They start their list of ‘Yes, but’ comments.
You establish a target… And they come up with a 10-page paper on why it is impossible, as if they had to publish a scientific article.
What is even more ironic is that they consider themselves smart.
They equate criticism to proof of their intelligence.
However, more than not, criticism is not a sign of intelligence…
Most of the time, it’s a disguise for fear.
I am not against a good feedback here, let me be clear.
Constructive criticism is totally different. It is a good thing that leads to the development. It helps to refine what is already there.
But actually, that is not the case we are dealing with here,
It is about the empty critic.
Unproductive people who do nothing, make no effort, and take no risks.
And yet they decide for the rest of us.
This is because making something is coming a with a whole load of duties.
On the other hand, disparaging something is a way to gain free influence.
Thus, some people have made criticism their survival tool.
Their habit is to sit back and watch people lose… Then, diminish their achievements.
Indeed, when they belittle your efforts, they again feel protected.
Because, deep down, there is a sense of panic: If you succeed… I will be the one left behind.
And due to this fear, they end up staying in the same spot forever.
Here is an unpalatable fact that some just do not want to accept:
Those who find faults in everything tend to have much less success.
This is so because criticizing invariably makes the mind defensive.
A brain that has been responding defensively all the time, is basically incapable of attacking.
Therefore, it could not plan or structure.
It could not venture or take the risk.
It could not create.
Success, most of the times, boils down to just having the guts to commit errors.
However, the lifetime hater transforms errors into adversaries.
Hence, they keep away from taking a risk.
Those who are frightened of taking the risk… Basically do not experience the growth.
1) Criticism Addiction: A Psychological Comfort Zone
The biggest self-delusion of the habitual faultfinder is as follows:
I point out the faults because I have a better understanding of the situation.
Absolutely not.
In most cases, they do not criticize because they understand the situation better…
They find fault because they are not able to perform better.
Doing something is a constant self-exposure.
Doing something is the same as saying: This belongs to me.
And what happens next?
You might be judged. You might be criticized.
And these people cannot stand being criticized.
They are like that because deep inside… They are very weak.
Weak and sensitive minds often turn angry.
That is their way of protecting themselves.
Psychologically, it is often explained as a projection: They cannot admit to themselves some aspects of their personality, so they blame others for those aspects.
They are insecure inside.
They put on an arrogant exterior.
That’s why the relentless critic’s voice sounds sure…
While their life is a mess.
They sound like experts in their talks…
while, in fact, they don’t even behave like savvy people.
Because they never really put into practice the knowledge that they use to impress you.
Knowledge that is not made use of does not give any life building or life changing quality to the knower.
It only serves as an ego-booster.
These people are very fond of commenting.
This is because commenting is not action.
Commenting is not giving the body a workout.
It does not put you at risk.
It is not leaving you exposed to the possibility of failure.
Commenting grants a kind of authority that is without cost.
This is one of the reasons why this type of character has become widespread in the age of molecular production.
Everyone drops a line under someone’s work and suddenly feels they have something over them.
But genuine philosophy isn’t mere talks from the comfort of one’s chair.
Real philosophy is your way of living.
The explanation for why criticism is something that people resort to over and over is quite simple: When you criticize, you put yourself in a position above the one you are criticizing.
This is so because the person who judges sees himself/herself as superior to the one being judged.
And the critic is, in a way, nourished by this feeling of superiority.
However, it’s just the same trick your mind is playing on you.
For power is not really in judging.
The real power lies in the ability to create.
2) Success Is Frequency of Production. Criticism Is Frequency of Consumption
Success is a kind of energy.
It is a vibration.
The vibration of an artist is not the same as that of the critic.
Writer, painter, musician or any other creative person mostly tend to be in question mode:
How can I do this?
How can I improve this?
How can I expand this?
The critic, on the other hand, is in the negation mode:
This is nonsense.
This cannot possibly work.
Who do they think they are?
They have no clue.
And this negative mode is a pit.
Because a person whose brain is conditioned for dismantling the work of others… Ultimately, they will hit a wall in their own life.
Today, their target is another’s work.
Tomorrow, the same person will be their own target.
That is because a brain that works on habits.
If you keep criticizing, you considerably risk making it your identity.
And as soon as criticism identifies with you, your actions vanish.
Because making mistakes comes with action. And the critic cannot bear to have mistakes.
Therefore, they are in what I term: Safe failure.
They remain unsuccessful… At least, from the outside, internally, they are safe.
Imagine this: The critic doesn’t want to be successful.
They just want to be comfortable.
Because being successful is being uncomfortable.
Success calls for risks.
Success means being ready to get embarrassed.
Success means falling and getting up again.
The critic, on the other hand, doesn’t want to fall.
Because at the very moment they fall… The mask is off.
And without the mask… They feel exposed.
3) The Philosophical Side: The Critic Is Rejecting Existence
Philosophically, criticism is often a mask of one thing:
It is the inability to accept.
Indeed, life is uncertain.
Life is not perfect.
Life sees errors.
Human beings are imperfect.
However, the critic simply can’t stand imperfection.
They can’t stand confusion, either.
They can’t stand anything that captivates their control.
Therefore, they lash out.
Because imperfection, to them, is a reminder of: The fact that they themselves have some imperfection.
Rather than confronting that reality, they are on a quest for imperfection in the outer world.
This is what fear looks like at its very lowest: Fear of seeing the truth.
Among the most dangerous beliefs that underpin fear is this one: I never make mistakes. Only fools do that.
Such a belief is highly detrimental to one’s development.
Since learning means first acknowledging:
I do not know.
I am not perfect.
I can get better.
A relentless judge of everything will never admit this.
For the reason that the ego won’t allow it.
And when ego prevents learning, progress comes to a halt.
Therefore, the reason why some individuals are correct throughout their lifetime is simply… And, yet they result in being hollow.
This is because truth alone does not nourish the soul.
It just nourishes pride.
True satisfaction is the result of a constructive activity.
When you create, your brain is filled.
When you build, your soul is in harmony.
However, if you only talk… There will come a point when a silent void develops within you.
This is because the essence of humans is to create.
If you put that natural urge on hold too long… Then the misery will make its appearance.
4) The Hidden Truth: The Attackers of People Most of the Time Secretly Admire Them
Here’s the irony of it all: Most of the time, the attackers of people envy secretly those who they attack.
Because the attacked person has a certain thing the attacker doesn’t have:
Courage.
The attacked person went to the arena.
They took the risk.
They made an effort.
And the attacker didn’t.
That’s why the attacker turns hostile.
Because the one who tries reminds them: You could’ve tried too.
And the reminder is painful.
Because if you were given an opportunity and failed to take it…
then it is you who bears the blame.
But blame is a heavy burden.
Therefore, they get rid of it by blaming the world:
They’re lucky.
They have connections.
They have money.
They’re pretty.
They have support.
And what do they actually mean?!
‘I didn’t do it because the world stopped me.’
That phrase sounds nice.
Because it is an ego protector.
It says: I’m not weak… It’s life that’s unfair.
However, such a solace kills the future.
Because the moment you give up your power to external factors…
You stop being the one in charge of your own life.
5) I Could Also Explain It Using Sports Examples: The Critic Is Always Sitting in the Stands
The players on the pitch work hard.
They make mistakes.
They lose.
They keep trying.
The person sitting in the stands?
They scream.
They judge.
They make fun.
They analyze.
But the one in the stands faces one issue: After the game is over… They leave.
And nothing changes for them.
The player comes home tired… But with a stronger body.
Success is an athlete’s work.
Without training no muscle.
Without risk no development.
Without repetition no discipline.
And criticism is the enemy of discipline.
Because discipline is: Getting up again.
A critic can’t be a person who gets up again.
Because the critic’s brain is conditioned to destroy things. Even their own consistency.
This is why critics live only half lives:
Half a dream.
Half a plan.
Half a identity.
And they get furious when other people finish what they never started.
6)Criticism Is Contagious The Most Dangerous Part
If you stay around someone who is always criticizing, after a while… You will start changing too.
Because your mind reflects the environment in which it is present.
Before long, you stop recognizing the potential.
Instead, you start seeing the defects.
You give up on creating.
Judging becomes your habit.
And so environments get destroyed.
Such as in a room where people listen with bright eyes… A growth room is created.
Where people listen with twisted faces… Is a graveyard.
Here, ideas perish.
Here, courage perishes.
Here, hope perishes.
Success cannot find itself in spaces where there is an excessive amount of criticism.
7) How Do You Handle These Individuals?
The first thing/principle: do not attempt to persuade them.
Because a critic doesn’t desire to be understood… But to have power.
The second: mark your limits.
There is no law that prohibits you from not receiving poisons.
The third: be very selective about whom you expose your dreams to.
It is physically impossible for everyone to be capable of carrying your vision.
Some people get uncomfortable when they see ambition because it serves as a mirror of their own life’s emptiness.
The fourth: keep this in mind constantly: No person who judges you is the one that is living your life.
That’s all.
And the fifth thing: safeguard your brain.
Because the virus can spread.
You can become the very thing that you despise.
. . . . . . .
Not always the smartest are the ones who criticize everything.
Some are simply scared.
They confused their fear with knowledge.
They confused their judgment with power.
They confused their talking with superiority.
However, real superiority is about making.
The critics are not the ones whom life expands.
The ones who try are the ones whom life expands.
Life does not remember the loud voices.
Life remembers the builders.
Therefore, step into the arena.
Make something.
Sweat.
Get on the wrong track.
Have another go.
Because criticism maybe a sound… But success is a personality.
And if you have a personality…
The crowd eventually gets quiet.