Quotes to live by...for the tortured writer
For the past few days I have been experiencing an odd thing in that people who would normally get a pass from me for saying or doing ridiculously stupid things no longer get that special treatment. Family, friends and even relatives of friends are no longer exempt because quite possibly, it is house cleaning time. Clean out the negative and move only toward that which is positive because we all have closets full of clothes we either no longer fit into or look just plain hideous wearing. Be warned though...should you attempt a "cleaning" of your own, accusations of acting like a petulant teenager may spring up! Take it in stride, because those who criticize the loudest have baggage of their own they need to unload.
It has been pointed out to me that I let too many "things" pass without fighting back and it struck a cord...a rather strident one at that, so I have begun to say what I think, no matter how harsh it may sound. This may seem like a bad idea and despite a momentary twinge of sadness, I accept that it needed to be said no matter the outcome.
People get irritated with me and now, I don't care as much whereas before, I would dwell on it and ponder about when I should apologize for the agonizing mistake "I" must have made. My only mistake was not saying what I was thinking sooner...life isn't over yet and I am not done talking.
Here are some of my favorite sayings on criticism....enjoy or not...
"If you succeed in life, you must do it in spite of the efforts of others to pull you down. There is nothing in the idea that people are willing to help those who help themselves. People are willing to help a man who can't help himself, but as soon as a man is able to help himself, and does it, they join in making his life as uncomfortable as possible." --Edgar Watson Howe
"Some criticism will be honest, some won't. Some praise you will deserve, some you won't. You can't let praise or criticism get to you. It's a weakness to get caught up in either one." --John Wooden
"Family quarrels are bitter things. They don't go by any rules. They're not like aches or wounds; they're more like splits in the skin that won't heal because there's not enough material." --F. Scott Fitzgerald
"I would rather be attacked than unnoticed. For the worst thing you can do to an author is to be silent as to his works. An assault upon a town is a bad thing; but starving it is still worse." --Samuel Johnson
“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
And finally...
"Everything I did in my life that was worthwhile I caught hell for." Earl Warren
Amen
