Something to Think About

Taking on Criticism

To please an official, the American president Abraham Lincoln once signed an order transferring certain regiments. Secretary of War Stanton, convinced that the President had made a serious mistake, refused to carry out the order. And for good measure he added, “Lincoln is a fool!”

When this was reported to Lincoln he said, “If Stanton said I am a fool then I must be one, for he is almost always right. I think I’ll step over and see for myself.”

That is exactly what he did. Stanton convinced him that the order was a mistake and Lincoln promptly withdrew it. Everyone knew that part of Lincoln’s greatness lay in the way he welcomed criticism.
_{Anthony de Mello, The Heart of the Enlightened}

Brother, we should not mind anybody’s criticism at all. I can tell you, critics are the best guide in life. We should always keep our ears and eyes open to our critics…. If it has any weight, we should try to learn from that criticism and try to improve ourselves.
_{Maharaj Charan Singh, Spiritual Perspectives, Volume III}