Jitterbugging for Jesus

I found it interesting that rather than just brushing off the mounting criticism of his efforts to alleviate poverty–which was his initial reaction–he eventually opened himself up to the criticism and embraced it. As a result, he’s making advancements in his company’s efforts to reduce poverty by creating jobs in Haiti and Ethiopia.

“There really is a lot you can learn from the critics,” Mycoskie says. “You can either try to debate them and fight them or you embrace them, and that’s what we’re trying to do.”

Criticism can sting the ego and produce a lot of inner anguish sometimes. Our first reaction is to get defensive or strike back at a critic–even if it’s constructive criticism. Unfortunately we’re prone to hear all criticism as destructive.

And, for sure, the world is full of blow-hards who are insecure about walking across the street. It seems they don’t know how to do anything but tear down other people out of envy or self-loathing or whatever lies behind the masks they wear to hide their own inner baggage.

(Me, I’ve had two careers–one in journalism and the other in ministry–in which you either develop crocodile skin or die of criticism. So I’ve had my share of constructive critics, who helped me grow and improve, and the attack dawgs.)

Mycoskie’s open reaction to his critics is a reminder that if we’re not so quick to throw up our guard–if we open our arms to the (constructive) critics rather than throw up our boxing gloves to save face–good things can happen to us and to others too.