Truth may hurt but it builds you

In Proverbs 27:6 of the bible, it is written that ‘Wounds from a friend can be trusted, but an enemy multiplies kisses.’

Everyone of us likes to hear sweet praises but we get angry easily with critical words that hit our hearts.

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When we are in a higher position in an organisation, there would be many who would always flatter us and we may be on cloud nine.

We accept those praises without a shadow of doubt because we think too highly of ourselves.

We get extremely defensive when a friend points out our area for improvement and we may even get angry with the friend.

This article is just a reminder to have a humble heart to accept the truth from a friend rather than to be totally blinded by sweet words with ulterior motives.

Our Critical Friend

It is very easy for me to say good things to another but it hard to give critical comments to a friend.

A true friend would care enough to tell us the truth of the area that we need to improve.

The given words may be hard to accept but these hard words are just what we need.

We should be open to the comment from a trusted friend and we should not let our pride be an obstacle to our listening heart.

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Pride can often be the downfall of the great because the great is not so great with loopholes that no one tells them except from a critical friend.

We must appreciate our critical friend as we need them more than all the flattering words from those with ulterior motives.

Flattering Words

As the head or leader of an organisation, we need to have a clear mind and not to be blinded by flattering words.

Flattering words can be extremely encouraging but these words can blind us from seeing the truth and proceed with decisions that may have negative consequences.

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We must know the difference between supportive words and flattering words.

The awareness of the degree of truth would enable us not to fall into the traps of others who may just want to see our downfall.

These flattering words can even lead us to make a terrible wrong decision resulting us losing our job or position in our organisation.

Constructive suggestions

When we show our employees or subordinates that we truly appreciate constructive suggestions and ideas rather than flattering words, we can build a good culture of truth in our organisation.

Flattering words are often used by scheming people who seek to gain favour from someone in higher position.

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When we, who are in position, exhibit appreciation to constructive suggestions and ideas, there would be lesser staff who choose to flatter us unnecessarily.

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We can even warn those who often flatter that we do not appreciate their sweets words and they should focus more on their own performance in the organisation.

In conclusion

Everyone of us can fall into the trap of flattering words easily.

It is so nice to hear good things and we feel like flying but our faithful friend would get us down to earth to see the truth and make improvement.

The hurtful truth from a friend can build us up while flattering words may sound sweet but can blind us to see the truth.

Be open and have a humble heart to receive constructive comments from a truth friend.

Disclaimer: This is my personal reflection and I am not in any position to instruct anyone what they should do. I am not responsible for any action taken as a result of this post. My post can only be a reference for your further research and growth. By reading this post, you acknowledge and accept that. All images and pictures were taken from google images that are free from copyright under labelled for reuse.

Special credit: I was inspired to write this article because of a conversation at discord when @halo was giving very frank advice to another member for the betterment of his social platform.

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Posted from my blog with SteemPress : http://fun2learn.vornix.blog/2019/03/22/truth-may-hurt-but-it-builds-you/

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