Flattery, Praise, Criticism and Encouragement
Quotes:
Grant me prudently to avoid him that flatters me, and to endure patiently him that contradicts me. - Thomas `a Kempis
Flattery is a counterfeit money which, but for vanity, would have no circulation. --François de la Rochefoucauld
Flattery is telling the other person precisely what he thinks about himself. --Dale Carnegie
Chickens don't praise their own soup.—Unknown
He that loves to be flattered is worthy of the flatterer. --William Shakespeare
You think I love flattery and so I do; but a little too much always disgusts me. –Samuel Johnston
He that is too desirous to be loved will soon learn to flatter, and, when he has exhausted all the variations of honest praise, and can delight no longer in the civility of truth, he will invent new topics of panegyric, and break out into raptures at virtues and beauties conferred by himself.—Samuel Johnston
It is easier and handier for men to flattery than to praise.- Jean Paul Friedrich Richter
Flattery is praise insincerely given for an interested purpose.--Henry Ward Beecher
Young children are unlikely to have their self-esteem strengthened from excessive praise or flattery. On the contrary, it may raise some doubts in children; many children can see through flattery and may even dismiss an adult who heaps on praise as a poor source of support--one who is not very believable. –Lilian Katz
Flattery is undeserved praise, and is usually general in nature. For example, when Grandma comes over and says, "Son, you are so handsome and smart, too," that is flattery. Praise, on the other hand, is specific and well-deserved positive reinforcement. "Mark, I really like the way you kept your room clean all day today." Respect and praise support children's growing sense of themselves and encourages positive behaviors. –Nancy Golden
Treat people as if they were what they ought to be and you help them to become what they are capable of being. --Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
Most people are not really conceited, but feel a certain amount of inferiority and tend to get a little discouraged with themselves, therefore encouragement is a very important thing! I do it all the time! I praise everybody for everything they do that I see is good. --David Brandt Berg
A word of encouragement during a failure is worth more than an hour of praise after success. --Unknown Author
Note how good you feel after you have encouraged someone else. No other argument is necessary to suggest that never miss the opportunity to give encouragement. --George Adams
Blame-all and Praise-all are two blockheads. –Benjamin Franklin
He who praises everybody praises nobody. --D. Samuel Johnson
Those who are lifting the world upward and onward are those who encourage more than criticize. Elizabeth Harrison
Correction does much, but encouragement does more. -- Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
The trouble with most of us is that we would rather be ruined by praise than saved by criticisms. --Norman Vincent Peale
Pointed criticism, if accurate, often gives the artist an inner sense of relief. The criticism that damages is that which disparages, dismisses, ridicules, or condemns. --William Ernest Henley
We swallow greedily any lie that flatters us, but we sip only little by little at a truth we find bitter. - Denis Diderot
The secret to giving advice is after it is given, to be perfectly indifferent to whether it is taken or not, and never persist in trying to set people right. –Hannah Whitall Smith
We can often do more for other men by trying to correct our own faults than by trying to correct theirs. -- Francois Fenelon
He has the right to criticize who has the heart to help. – Lincoln
To belittle is to be little. --Unknown
It is only imperfection that complains of what is imperfect. The more perfect we are, the more gentle and quiet we become towards the defects of others. --Joseph Addison
I believe that one becomes stronger emotionally by taking life less personally. If your employer criticizes your report, don't take it personally. Instead, find out what's needed and fix it. If your girlfriend laughs at your tie, don't take it personally. Find another tie or find another girlfriend. --Marilyn vos Savant
It is not the critic who counts, not the man who points out how the strong man stumbled, or where the doer of deeds could have done better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena; whose face is marred by the dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs and comes short again and again...who knows the great enthusiasms, the great devotions and spends himself in a worthy course; who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who, at worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly; so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who know neither victory nor defeat. --Theodore Roosevelt
To avoid criticism do nothing, say nothing, be nothing. --Elbert Hubbard
Pay attention to your enemies, for they are the first to discover your mistakes. –Antisthenes
Criticism may not be agreeable, but it is necessary. It fulfils the same function as pain in the human body. It calls attention to an unhealthy state of things.--Winston Churchill
The way we respond to criticism pretty much depends on the way we respond to praise. If praise humbles us, then criticism will build us up. But if praise inflates us, then criticism will crush us; and both responses lead to our defeat. --Warren W. Wiersbe
A woman's flattery may inflate a man's head a little; but her criticism goes straight to his heart, and contracts it so that it can never again hold quite as much love for her --Helen Rowland
One of the highest of human duties is the duty of encouragement...It is easy to laugh at men's ideals; it is easy to pour cold water on their enthusiasm; it is easy to discourage others. The world is full of discouragers. We have a Christian duty to encourage one another. Many a time a word of praise or thanks or appreciation or cheer has kept a man on his feet. Blessed is the man who speaks such a word. William Barclay
Never believe anything bad about anybody unless you positively know it to be true; never tell even that unless you feel that it is absolutely necessary—and that God is listening while you tell it. William Penn
If your heart acquires strength, you will be able to remove blemishes from others without thinking evil of them. -- Mohandas K. Gandhi
Our dependency makes slaves out of us, especially if this dependency is a dependency of our self-esteem. If you need encouragement, praise, pats on the back from everybody, then you make everybody your judge.—Unknown
You can't let praise or criticism get to you. It's a weakness to get caught up in either one.-- John Wooden
Flatter me, and I may not believe you. Criticize me, and I may not like you. Ignore me, and I may not forgive you. Encourage me, and I will not forget you. --William Arthur Ward
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