Daily Meditation: Sunday, October 5, 2025

Helping others - demonstrate educational skills, appeal to their qualities

10/05/2025

Of course, human beings are not perfect, but endless criticism is not a constructive attitude. The question is whether you are trying to help them, or merely giving vent to irritation and exasperation. Helping people requires real educational skill, and this means appealing to all that is best in them by letting them know that you recognize their good qualities (and everybody has at least one). In this way, you touch their self-esteem, and they will try not to let you down; this is how you will get them to improve. Do not imagine that you can help people to change by constantly stressing their imperfections, and calling them incompetent, liars or dishonest, because then they will stop even trying to improve. After all, why should they make an effort, since you have already made up your mind about them?*