Best of Yourself Complete Collection (Classic Collection Edition)

Author: Li Wei
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2006-11-10
Features: Criticism and blame are useless. On May 7, 1932, a shocking and unprecedented gun battle broke out on the streets of New York. The two-gun bandit Glory—a sober murderer who abstained from alcohol and tobacco—was finally surrounded and captured by the police in the apartment of his girlfriend on Westmoreland Avenue after weeks of evasion. After Glory was arrested, the Commissioner of the New York City Police, Monohan, publicly stated that Glory was the most vicious and stubborn criminal in New York's history, "any small trivial matter could provoke his brutal killing spree." But how did the two-gun bandit Glory view himself? At the height of the battle, he even took the time to write a bloody self-confession, which read: "Though my heart is weary, I have always been kind and compassionate, never having intentionally harmed anyone." When Glory was sentenced to death and sent to the electric chair, he still insisted, "This is too unfair! I killed purely out of self-defense!" From this, it is clear that the two-gun bandit Glory never believed he was guilty and showed no remorse at all. If even these notoriously evil criminals still tried to cover up their own faults, what about the ordinary people we normally interact with? The late American industrialist John Warner once said, "Thirty years ago, I already knew that criticizing others was a foolish thing. Just being angry that God didn't grant me extraordinary wisdom, forcing me to fight alone and overcome my natural shortcomings, was already enough to keep me busy!" Warner had already grasped this truth at a young age, but personally, it took me a third of a century to understand that no matter how serious the mistake, at least 99 out of 100 people will not reflect on their own faults or sincerely admit them. Harsh criticism is useless; it only forces the criticized to take defensive actions and deliberately find justifications for their behavior. This kind of criticism is dangerous because it directly harms a person's self-esteem and triggers their rebellious instincts. The German army has a military regulation that explicitly states that if there is dissatisfaction, one must absolutely not erupt on the spot and must wait until the next night to discuss the matter once emotions have cooled. I believe such a regulation is equally necessary in general society, as it may help those nagging parents, loud wives, picky employers, and complainers to calm down and stop creating more trouble for society. People who make mistakes will always blame others and never reflect on their own faults or admit them, but in fact, this is a flaw that everyone has. So, the next time you or I suddenly feel the urge to criticize others, perhaps we should think about these real-life examples. We must acknowledge the fact that the person we intend to criticize or curse, whether they are at fault or not, will stubbornly argue, make excuses for their actions, and even resort to harsh counterattacks. I spent ten years studying the life of Lincoln, especially his principles for handling interpersonal relationships. When he was young, he was fond of criticizing others and often wrote satirical articles about them, distributing them to the public, which caused great hatred from those involved. There was once an instance where he went too far...