We are part of a community in which we have not been prepared to dialogue, negotiate, forge understandings and make insights inspired by the genuine intention to reconsider about realities that must be corrected or analyzed. I am referring to tolerance towards "Constructive Criticism".
Let's start by clarifying the meaning of this word. The Royal Academy of the Spanish Language defines it as what "is publicly expressed about a show, a book, an artistic work, etc." as "examination and judgment." This term derives from the word "criterion".
Also, it is the directed function of the critical intellect, issued as a formal, founded and reasoned opinion - imperiously analytical - with connotation of a sentence when a truth is established before a specific subject or object. In everyday language it is the disapproval or censorship of something or someone.
Understood as a practice intended to examine and explore, "criticism" must be common to people to challenge their determinations. This quality fosters a thoughtful and stimulating content for the integral development of individuals. The “critical” gaze exhibits a disagreement that makes it possible to orient better actions and the continuous evaluation of actions. Therefore, it is a priority to carry it out in an environment lacking this ability.
Let us not fear, nor reject "criticism" when it differs by its introspective magnitude and good sense. Its healthy exercise will enable the subjects, personally and in groups, to meditate on matters that, at first glance, are assumed to be valid, true and categorical. Is not always that way. Well, to face complexities successfully requires a high index of judicious ability and constant reflection.
It is recommended to feed “constructive criticism” from, among other elements, a formative process that includes positive questioning in the family, social and educational environment, and is aimed at deepening knowledge and emotions. Accepting orders, instructions and mandates - without using value judgment - obstructs the unfolding of that extraordinary possibility of human beings, so little used, to subject the affirmations received to scrutiny.
In this sense, I suggest approaching the reading. A tool that revolts and makes others dissenting, sharp and analytical. In addition, it compromises the expansion of new virtues; helps perfect language, improves expression, vocabulary and spelling; increases human relationships and favors empathy; facilitates the exposition of thought and deductive capacity; activates mental functions streamlining intelligence; opens the imagination and creativity. Remember, the lack of culture and enlightenment leads to mediocre behavior, subordinate and subjected to brutalizing messages.
All the mechanisms that involve critical training will be welcomed in a community –like ours- indifferent, intellectually “paraplegic”, conformist and, furthermore, manipulated by the media, politicians, opinion leaders, advertising content, stereotypes and other components that contribute to its growing stagnation.
Encouraging "criticism" is a task that draws mainly on the example of parents, who have an explicit influence in shaping their children and, therefore, can enhance this skill in order to help them "think." The way in which conflicts are settled in the home, the company and the society –without a doubt- shows the absence of “constructive criticism”. On the contrary, differences are resolved through confrontation, raising one's voice, with authoritarian impositions, arrogance and threats, which is evidenced by little "emotional intelligence" (the lucidity to recognize one's own feelings and those of others, and the expertise to handle them with wisdom). The term was popularized by Daniel Goleman, in his famous publication "Emotional Intelligence" (1995).
On the other hand, it is essential to establish certain criteria that allow "constructive criticism" in order to face daily adversities in a propitious way. He aims to avoid being upset or emotionally charged; adopt a flexible and serving gesture; describe the dilemma without making a value judgment; indicate how you feel about the incident, express your impressions; and finally, ask how you can help.
So, as David Fischman points out in his book “The Leader's Mirror”: “It is necessary to realize that we ourselves have much to improve. Otherwise, we will be hiding our own shortcomings, highlighting and exaggerating the defects of our staff ”. It is also desirable to have an open and humble aptitude.
In every field we find situations that demand maturity and intelligence (understood as the ability to solve problems). The current social dynamics, characterized by its high stress index, requires knowing the implications of "constructive criticism" in order to face misfortunes and obstacles in the long journey of life. To conclude, consider the appropriate words of the Spanish writer Fernando Sánchez Dragó: "The best criticism is the one that does not respond to the will to offend, but to freedom of judgment."
(*) Teacher, lecturer, journalist, consultant in event organization, protocol, image and social etiquette.
