Tag Archives: criticism

Perceptions of Homeschooling: When others think you are doing a bad job

One of the hardest parts of being a homeschooler is dealing with the criticism that goes along with it. Just reading the occasional article or blog makes it clear that by homeschooling people have the perception that we are doing a bad job with my kids. Many of us do try to prove that we are not doing a bad job. We write, we blog, we discuss, we try and try and try to prove to the general public that we are good parents and educators. This approach however is a colossal waste of time. It tends to come across … Continue reading →

Watch Out for Being Overly Self-Critical

We definitely need to try to be honest with ourselves as business owners and work to do a better and better job at our work. I also think it helps to be able to be honest with ourselves and look at our “weaknesses” or those areas where we stand to make improvements. Many of us can get carried away, however, and spend so much time beating ourselves up and focusing on what we are not doing right, that we can force our self-esteem into the dumpster! Too much self-criticism does not help our businesses. To be completely honest, I do … Continue reading →

When Strangers Criticize Your Business

Many of us home business owners have had a difficult client or two and have been on the receiving end of some negative comments and nastiness. We may also have had to endure some doubts from our family and friends. Additionally, it can be rough when strangers or those who are hardly involved with us at all criticize our home business operations. There is nothing like unsolicited criticism to put a person on the defensive. Most of the time, I can get by with saying “I’ll definitely take your comments under consideration” or “I appreciate the feedback.” Even though it … Continue reading →

Why Criticizing can get YOU Down

It may seem obvious that being overly critical and criticizing our customers, clients, prospects, colleagues, vendors, etc.—all those people we come in contact with as we are running our home businesses—can affect our reputation and have a negative influence on our relationships, but you may not realize what a negative impact it can have on you. All that criticizing can cause you to feel negatively about your home business operations and not too eager to get down to work every day… Negative energy is negative energy—whether it is coming from someone else or we are creating it ourselves. Even if … Continue reading →

Unlikely Friends

The most unlikely of friends – those words could describe Edward Cole and Carter Chambers in the movie ‘The Bucket List.’ The friendship did not get off to an auspicious start. They appeared to have nothing in common, except sharing a hospital room. Then they each received the news they only had a few months or possibly a year to live. So begins the unlikeliest friendship, as they start off on a journey together to cross off a number of activities written on ‘the bucket list,’ so called because it is things they would like to do before they ‘kick … Continue reading →

Criticism can keep Our Kids from Sharing

Many parents feel like it is their job to criticize and “direct” their children–it does not matter what the child is doing, from tying his shoes to taking out the trash, the parent is offering “constructive advice.” Too much criticism, however, can be a real barrier between parent and child; too much criticism can keep our children from wanting to talk to us, share with us, or even be around us; too much criticism can undo bonding and attachment. Think of times when you have been criticized–maybe it was by your own parents or on the job. If the criticism … Continue reading →

Turn Off Your Critical Brain

How can we help it as parents? We know that a big part of our job is to train and teach our children and this just seems to include a bit of critiquing. We know that we can be too critical and that often keeping our mouths closed is better than saying something critical, but many of us struggle with this. I’ve come up with a phrase I use for myself and I remind myself to “turn off my critical brain” and open myself up to other ways of responding. The world is a critical place, it may not seem … Continue reading →

Don’t Judge the Church by the People

I can’t tell you how many times I’ve had a conversation with someone that goes like this: “My Uncle Henry used to be a member, but then his home teacher said something unkind, and he hasn’t been back to church since.” I think it’s safe to say that we’ve all had a church leader say something insensitive or downright rude. This does not, in any way, reflect on the church itself. The leaders we are given are human. They have bad days. They don’t always act in the manner God would like them to behave – in short, they’re just … Continue reading →

Are You Passing on Negativity and Criticism?

We want our children to take on our values and we might even be secretly hoping that they might inherit some of our “better points”–but children also have a way of showing us the less savory sides of ourselves. We can pass on all sorts of things–values, personality traits, and belief systems without really intending too. If we tend to be critical and negative about people and things that happen–we could be ensuring that our children will also be negative and critical. It can take some hard self-evaluation to identify if we are being openly critical and negative. Do you … Continue reading →

Taking Criticism With a Grain of Salt

I hate being criticized. As Zen as I try to be in so many areas of my life, I really do not take criticism well—especially when someone criticizes me for something I didn’t really want to do anyway! As thick-skinned and as level-minded as I try to be, getting notes, e-mails, phone calls, etc. of criticism can set me aback. I have to work on being able to take criticism with a grain of salt… Criticism can be extremely helpful, of course. We know that getting feedback from customers, clients, colleagues, etc. can help us to make necessary improvements to … Continue reading →