In our last installment on this subject, criticism was highlighted as a major factor in creating low self-confidence.
You should learn to evaluate every criticism by considering the Purpose, Frequency, Accuracy and Necessity of the charge.
We call this evaluation PFAN.
PFAN can be essential in your self-development training.
This evaluation requires honesty, a virtue that many people do not have when it comes to self-assessment.
Those who nurture this virtue are developing a character trait that will serve them well in meeting life's challenges.
All people have an inherent self-worth, which is a basic fact of life.
However, not everyone knows or believes this and much misery is created by this ignorance.
History teaches us that life is cheap.
This distorted view of life is one of the main reasons why so many people suffer from low self-worth.
Your personal growth program should not allow such thinking As Sir Francis Bacon stated over three centuries ago, "Knowledge is power.
" Knowing the validity of criticism will allow you to disregard that which is false and therefore, damaging to you as a person.
It will also help you to improve your self-worth by making changes based on legitimate criticism.
This can be useful information in your attempt to nurture self-help motivation.
You can look back at your life and analyze much of the criticism you received using PFAN and you will likely come to the conclusion that most of it was false criticism.
Obviously, it's much easier to do this exercise as an adult than a child.
At first glance this may seem a daunting task.
However, in reality, we are really only criticized in a few areas.
For instance, you may have been told that you are a lazy person.
Your first concern should be focused on the accuracy of the charge.
You need to question the purpose of the person lodging the critique.
Frequency also includes the number of people bringing the charge.
Obviously, if you have heard this from parents, teachers, and supervisors throughout your life it will impact the accuracy of the charge.
Could it be that you spent a considerable amount of time with a person, who was filled with energy and motivation for getting a job done and you did not measure up to the same level of achievement.
This would not necessarily mean that you were lazy.
In fact, given the right job assignment you might run circles around this person.
Perhaps your environment was such that it included a high degree of over-achievers.
If such were the case, you may very well have adopted the label of being lazy without any legitimate reason for doing so.
Indeed, such a posture could lead you to actually developing laziness.
If you tell someone often enough that 2 + 2 = 5, eventually he or she may come to believe it is true.
I'm not trying to give everyone a way out that thinks they're lazy.
It may very well be that some of you are lazy.
My objective is not to provide a way of escape, but to discover the truth.
"Once your soul has been enlarged by a truth, it can never return to its original size.
" Blaise Pascal
You should learn to evaluate every criticism by considering the Purpose, Frequency, Accuracy and Necessity of the charge.
We call this evaluation PFAN.
PFAN can be essential in your self-development training.
This evaluation requires honesty, a virtue that many people do not have when it comes to self-assessment.
Those who nurture this virtue are developing a character trait that will serve them well in meeting life's challenges.
All people have an inherent self-worth, which is a basic fact of life.
However, not everyone knows or believes this and much misery is created by this ignorance.
History teaches us that life is cheap.
This distorted view of life is one of the main reasons why so many people suffer from low self-worth.
Your personal growth program should not allow such thinking As Sir Francis Bacon stated over three centuries ago, "Knowledge is power.
" Knowing the validity of criticism will allow you to disregard that which is false and therefore, damaging to you as a person.
It will also help you to improve your self-worth by making changes based on legitimate criticism.
This can be useful information in your attempt to nurture self-help motivation.
You can look back at your life and analyze much of the criticism you received using PFAN and you will likely come to the conclusion that most of it was false criticism.
Obviously, it's much easier to do this exercise as an adult than a child.
At first glance this may seem a daunting task.
However, in reality, we are really only criticized in a few areas.
For instance, you may have been told that you are a lazy person.
Your first concern should be focused on the accuracy of the charge.
You need to question the purpose of the person lodging the critique.
Frequency also includes the number of people bringing the charge.
Obviously, if you have heard this from parents, teachers, and supervisors throughout your life it will impact the accuracy of the charge.
Could it be that you spent a considerable amount of time with a person, who was filled with energy and motivation for getting a job done and you did not measure up to the same level of achievement.
This would not necessarily mean that you were lazy.
In fact, given the right job assignment you might run circles around this person.
Perhaps your environment was such that it included a high degree of over-achievers.
If such were the case, you may very well have adopted the label of being lazy without any legitimate reason for doing so.
Indeed, such a posture could lead you to actually developing laziness.
If you tell someone often enough that 2 + 2 = 5, eventually he or she may come to believe it is true.
I'm not trying to give everyone a way out that thinks they're lazy.
It may very well be that some of you are lazy.
My objective is not to provide a way of escape, but to discover the truth.
"Once your soul has been enlarged by a truth, it can never return to its original size.
" Blaise Pascal