The Pitfalls of Praise

Few people have the wisdom to prefer the criticism that would do them good, to the praise that deceives them. — Francois de La Rochefoucauld

We all just love to hear our name mentioned, it is like music to our ears, unless it means that we are in trouble! We all need encouragement and praise is a very important practice that will surely lead to greater results and even save the lives of the praise depraved! It is so important to give credit where credit is due, praise your kids for the things they do to express your appreciation for their compliance, praise your co-workers for a job well done so that as a team you can continue to progress.  Praise is valuable and we do not do enough of it when it really counts.

But there is a time that praise can lead to not-so-positive results and I wanted to share a few here and see if you can come up with other examples. For one, false praise is detected quite easily when you want to gain some status for yourself so you are generous with your praise with the hope that you will be recognized and considered for promotion.  The kind of which I spoke in a previous post “Brown Noser or Contributor”.  It becomes obvious to those around you that you are quick to praise your boss or a leader for personal gain, then your sincerity and praise will  be placed in doubt when you finally acknowledge others.

Then there is when you are on the receiving end of praise, and perhaps you are a public figure, successful in business, an artist of some kind and you are overwhelmed with praise from the General Public, friends or subordinates.  This throws you in the limelight and you now “have a name”, unfortunately this can become an addiction and be downright dangerous.  It can easily go to your head and fill you with a pride that becomes toxic and dangerous to your very being.  It can  feel good, but it can also eventually make you feel above everyone and everything around you leading to do things that previously you would have never thought about doing.

It is good to bathe in the praise offered you for a time, but remember to get out of the shower and come back down on earth lest you be set up for a big fall.  You have remember that praise lasts only a while, and once you are addicted to it, and it is no longer, there you might find  yourself in great misery.  Just take a good look at those who have risen to fam, what kind of lives they have led, where did it lead them, are they really happy?

Praise can be great, just use it in small doses, otherwise it could led to pride and keep in mind that pride comes before a fall!  Make sure when you praise that you praise sincerely in order to help those who need encouragement.  It is amazing how some seemingly negative things like criticism can bring good, and other seemingly positive things can bring about something bad.

I covered some pitfalls of praise, can you think of others?  What are your thoughts on the matter?