“Any fool can criticize, condemn and complain- and most fools do.But it takes character and self-control to be understanding and forgiving.”
Ninety- nine times out of a hundred, people don’t criticize themselves for anything, no matter how wrong it may be.
Criticism is futile because it puts a person on the defensive and usually makes him strive to justify himself. Criticism is dangerous because it wounds a person’s precious pride and hurts his sense of importance.
As proved through B.F. Skinner’s experiment, animal rewarded for good behavior will learn much more rapidly and retain what it learns far more effectively than an animal punished for bad behavior. Later studies have shown that the same applies to humans.
George B. Johnston of Enid, Oklahoma, is the safety coordinator for an engineering company. One of his responsibilities is to see that employees wear their hats whenever they are on the job in the field. He reported that whenever he came across workers who were not wearing hard hats, he would tell them with a lot of authority of the regulation and that they must comply. As a result, he would get sullen acceptance, and often after he left, the workers would remove the hats. He decided to try a different approach. The next time he found workers not wearing their hat, he asked if the hats were uncomfortable or did not fit properly. Then he reminded them about the priority of their safety in a pleasant tone of voice. The result was increased compliance with the regulation and no resentment or emotional upset.
As Dr. Johnson rightly said: “God himself, sir, does not propose to judge man until the end of his days.”
Why should you and I?
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