Why I Can't Take Criticism

Actually, that's a strong title. I should call this, "why I can't take criticism most of the time". Anyway, I'll get to the point. It's like this:

I can't take criticism most of the time not because of the criticism, but because of what I feel coming from BEHIND the criticism. It's one thing when a person genuinely is trying to help you by drawing attention to certain things you may have overlooked; it's something else entirely when a person is pointing out your faults to add to their own stripes.

It's like that "good lawyer" saying I maintain: "A good lawyer doesn't tell you what you can't do; a good lawyer tells you what it will take for you to do what you want to do". Most of what I get is the "can't do's" and doubts of people, but what I'm really looking for is the "if you go thru with this then you should expect A, B, and C, but I'm with you 100%". That's the kinda criticism I willingly receive.

I mean, sometimes I can literally explain the pros and the cons of a plan of mine to critics, hoping to avert dwelling on the negatives. But somehow I still find myself defending what I've already acknowledged as an issue as they descend upon the negatives, like I didn't even put them out there. And the bad thing is, normally, that would daunt me... Just imagine: you know the pros and cons of your own plans in advance, but just because people emphasize the cons (that you already know) you go from intentionally facing them to becoming intimidated by them. Pretty stupid, huh?

But I realized something the other day as I watched Star Wars Episode III. I watched Yoda, the legendary "wise one", make the wisest decisions he could as leader of the Jedi. But even in Yoda's 800-year-old wisdom, Mace Windu was killed, Anakin Skywalker managed to go to the Dark Side, Order 66 was still issued and almost all the Jedi were wiped out, and Darth Sidious still managed to erect an empire. The point? No matter what decisions you make or how good your intentions, there will ALWAYS be a loophole in the plan that could present a problem. So when people find these loopholes, it should never be a surprise, and you shouldn't take it personally. Especially when you already knew the loopholes were there.

I used to defend my conceptions to protect my own confidence in them; now, I think I'll just settle for knowing my course and accepting any criticism that comes with it as a fact of life. I haven't been living by my own credo... Did I ever give you my credo? Peep:

1. Protect the innocence (intentional pun) - make sure that anything that hasn't been corrupted does not become corrupted.
2. Restore the order - solve problems by returning to God's original plan for the situation, not by creating new solutions.
3. Raise the standard - like a scar where a wound once lay, raise the standard over a solved problem to make sure no further damage is done.
4. Let the fruit be the proof - don't spend time convincing people of your perspectives; simply execute and let them see the result

In case you didn't figure it out, it's the 4 principle of my credo that I've been in violation of. Perhaps if I spent more time executing and less time defending, I'd be further along right now. Let's try it.

Jesus PeaceB-J