Happy Thursday!
A while back I heard an eye-opening activity a teacher did in a classroom.
This teacher wrote ten math facts on the chalkboard but intentionally wrote the wrong answer for one of them. When she wrote the wrong answer, the kids began to snicker behind her. The laughing slowly grew across the room.
After completing the problems, the teacher turned around and said, “I wrote a wrong answer on purpose, because I wanted you to learn something important today. This was for you to know how the world out there will treat you. You can see that I had the right answer nine times, but none of you congratulated me for it; you all laughed and criticized me because of one wrong thing I did. So, this is the lesson—the world will never appreciate the good you do a million times but will criticize the one wrong thing you do. But don’t get discouraged, always rise above the laughter and the criticism. Stay strong.”
As adults, we have experienced much more of the world and its criticism than those kids in the classroom. I know personally that I have experienced 10x more criticism than I have praise.
People will always see the times you fail or mess up. Some are even anticipating it—waiting and watching for you do the wrong thing.
Don’t stop doing the good things even when you may accidentally mess up and receive the hurt from the judgment of others. Those who do good in this world may not always receive applause and recognition for their words or their actions, but if all good was silenced because of the lack of gratitude for it, what would happen?
There would be no good.
You will not always be praised for what you do—no matter how good it may be.
Continue to rise, shine bright, do good, and love fiercely.
Trust me—the impact you are making IS and WILL BE felt.
