The book How to win friends and influence people by Dale Carnegie is a real masterpiece. Written in 1936, it still contains chapter after chapter of useful guidance for becoming a better person today.

This morning I’d like to look at one of the key principles in the book, which is “Don’t criticize, condemn or complain”. Carnegie argues that when we’re dealing with people, we aren’t dealing with creatures of logic. Instead, we are dealing with people that have emotions, are trying to read between the lines, and are driven by pride and vanity. To get what we want, we need to take this into account. Criticizing and complaining isn’t going to help get our point across and will probably not yield what we are looking for.

By default, humans blame everybody but themselves. We are all like that. So when you and I are tempted to criticize someone today, let’s realize that the person we are going to correct is probably going to justify himself and condemn us in return.

Instead, let’s see if we can be understanding and forgiving. As the saying goes: a drop of honey catches more flies than a gallon of gal. It takes character, self-control and a lot of hard work to be like this.

To end with another great quote: “A great man shows his greatness by the way he treats the little man”. Be great today.