In some spheres in life there is more critique and criticism than others. Growing up, some people close to me were more critical than others. It was easy for those people to find fault in others. As I consider this characteristic, I think it's better to err on the side of looking for people's strengths rather than their faults. We all have faults and weaknesses, and most of us know our faults and weaknesses better than anyone else. I could make a long list of mine.
At times, however, it may be right to critique a situation or individual. We may wonder why a situation turned out poorly or an individual was hurt. In cases like this, it's important to learn what you can, and possibly avoid a similar mistake.
As an educator, I saw the hurt on children's faces when people expected them to be something that they weren't. Rather than seek to understand a child's true identity and interests, people projected expectations that weren't a match for the child at all. When this occurred, I noticed how the child had trouble feeling confident or proud of their true selves. On the other hand, when families invested time and effort into helping a child be the best of who they were, I saw so much more happiness and confidence. Most of us realize that children are born with certain traits, and there are traits which can be developed too. Finding a healthy balance between the two while keeping a child's identity as a primary focus is integral to creating happy, confident children.
We have to be very careful of when and how we critique situations. In every situation, there is much that we don't know so we have to be careful about judging.
