Keep Your Friends Close & Your Critics Closer

We all have those friends, you know the one, they've always got something to say. Most of the time it's not the nicest thing you've heard either.

Granted, they are your friend, so it's not mean spirited, but still...their comments and general opinions are... critical. From their perception of your posture and the way you carry yourself, to the way they analyze your writing with relentless detail despite the fact that, you know, they don't write themselves and know NOTHING. It's enough to bring you to tears.

Sometimes you want to just scream at them. Sometimes they're quite literally the last person you want to see.

But other times...other times you think to yourself. "Wow, it really sucked hearing that, but I'll be a monkey's uncle if they didn't hit the nail on the head."

My pants ARE too baggy.

I DO walk around like a hunchback.

I AM generally awkward around pretty girls.

The way I wrote that WAS pretty bad.

My Music DOES suck.

Lol just kidding. The last one will never be true. I'll never relinquish my adoration of pop-punk and Sum 41. Say what you will but I make a mean Mix CD. One of my top 5 favorite compliments to hear is "Every time i hear Fat Lip/In Too Deep I think of you."

Criticism is a necessary evil, and if you don't have skin thick enough to keep someone around who keeps you honest, then maybe you need to wake up and smell the roses.

Be discerning in what you accept though. Some people are relentless in nature, and if you're not discerning you might end up changing something that wasn't broken to begin with. Throughout my travels I've determined a pretty good formula to judge criticism.

1.) If they they tell you whats wrong and exactly how to fix it I generally dismiss it.

"Why? they sound like they know what they're talking about!"

 - Exactly. No body has time for a know it all. If they really care about you, they'll point you in the right direction, but they should want you to figure it out yourself. Knowledge can be given, but wisdom must be earned.

2.) However if they merely tell you what they don't like and why, then maybe you should take it into consideration.

Bottom line, keep your critics around. You might not always like what they have to say, but they mean well...Sometimes.