Praises VS criticism

Well, I really don't want my blog to be dead so I thought of a topic that I really want to talk about :D I thought of this topic before PW interview earlier today.

It will be on praises VS criticism which I thought is a topic that is quite relevant to many of us here.

To begin with, I was born to an average family, I would say, in terms of character building. My mum is like any other ordinary mum who canes when I'm naughty and praises when I do something good. Caning is her form of criticism towards my actions and praising is her form of encouragement.

On the other hand, my dad will always be the one protecting me. My dad never scolds nor canes.

Despite so, there were times when I had friends around me telling me that I look like the only child because I'm like a spoilt brat who gets whatever I want. But hello guys, do you guys know how strict my mother was to me as a kid? I don't get to play DS/PSP/Gameboy when I was a kid. I only got my first personal computer when I was in P5 and that was when I started to game -- Maplestory, Audition, etc.

Obviously I'm not a spoilt brat. Get your facts right!

My mum really "trained" me on how to deal with criticism xD

There will definitely be times we receive criticisms and there will also be times we receive praises. Over the years, I gradually became better at dealing with criticisms than praises. I'm not saying that praises are something that need to be dealt with, but I'm just the sort of person who doesn't know how to react to praises. Praises make me feel awkward. ((It's just my nature, you may not feel how I feel)) On the contrary, criticisms have a greater impact on me and I'm able to deal with it better by improving myself.

As a kid, I remember loving to hear praises which please my ears. And it seems like it's no longer that case anymore. Criticisms give me a room for improvement.

Just today, before entering the professor's office for some interview questions, I told my group to be prepared for criticisms like what last year's PW groups went through. ((I saw a few reports whereby they got criticised badly by their respective professors)) Although one of us might not like to hear harsh words, we all know that criticism is a way for us to improve on our project.

To my surprise, the professor is super nice. He didn't criticise our project but instead, told us on what to improve on. To be honest, I think the effect might be different if he criticised our product instead. We might be working even harder than before.

But of course, the sort of criticisms that come my way must be valid and not something that I'm wronged for. Those that I'm wronged for, I will remember it forever even if I forgive. I forgive but I won't forget. That's me.

I really like this quote

Criticism is indeed a very valid tool to help people improve. What are your views on praises and criticism? Do you want to hear sweet or harsh words? Do you want to be complacent or constantly improving? Do you want to feel good or be better?