Everyone is wrong, everyone has ideas, opinions and beliefs that are factually or logically false. No matter how certain you are in your beliefs, no matter how confidant you are in your beliefs, no matter how important your beliefs are to you, none of it mean they are true. Being wrong about something can have consequences for individuals and society. Believing something to be true when it's false can cost you money, your health, the health of your family, friends, the people around you and while individually the social costs are small, when many or a majority believe something to be true when it's false the consequences can effect society as a whole.

Criticism is necessary to separate fact from fiction and good ideas from bad ideas. Through criticism flaws, flawed thinking, faulty logic, bad design, factual errors, etc are exposed. Criticism also can have the opposite effect shoring up ideas, actions, behaviors, etc that are backed by good logic and or facts.

If you are secure in your beliefs than you should seek criticism. If your ideas and beliefs are correct than criticism will show them to be correct. If your ideas and beliefs are false than don't you want ideas and beliefs that are factually correct?

There are people out there who take any criticism as an attack on them. Criticism is not an attack (unless it is and if it is remember: any criticism is it self up for criticism). Why do people take criticism as an attack? Some may equate being wrong with being stupid in which case they are stupid, not because they are wrong, because they equate being wrong with being stupid (see first paragraph). Another reason maybe an (I hate to use this word because it's over used and most often wrongly used) elitist attitude; an "who are you to criticize me" attitude, in which case: everything everyone says, does, designs or makes is up for criticism from anyone anywhere, of any relation, no exceptions! A third reason could be that some might not have a lot of confidence in their beliefs and these beliefs are very important to them, criticism reminds them of their own doubt in, which case: as a shirt you should buy says "Your wrong! Grow up and get over it". Then of course there's power, many in positions of power don't like criticism, it weakens their power, in which case: take them out of power!

Criticism is good and necessary. It should not be feared, it should be embraced.
© 2012 all rights reserved