09/22/2025
Emotional Intelligence tip of the day!
Criticism says, “You should know better. You need to be set straight, and I know what the right answer is. I don’t trust your intentions. You are the problem here and I’m here to tell you how to fix it.”
Criticism lacks self-awareness.
It doesn’t recognize that our reaction to someone else’s behavior is bringing up a feeling inside of us. That that feeling could be related to a deeper unmet need, a triggering past experience, or just a difference in value sets or beliefs.
Criticism doesn’t take responsibility for our feelings or perspective. It doesn’t leave room for curiosity.
It puts the problem solely on the recipient of the criticism.
It becomes flat, one-dimensional, and doesn’t allow for complexity, nuance, learning, or deeper connection & growth to occur.
It’s reactive instead of responsive.
It’s protective. And we often criticize because we have big feelings but never learned that it was okay to acknowledge and take responsibility for them, and to share those needs and feelings with other people in a way that didn’t threaten the connection between us.
Up front, it feels safer to criticize. It feels simpler. It’s less vulnerable, and *seems* like less work.
But criticism leaves a lot of important things unsaid and unacknowledged, and stops us from looking at our role in our own discomfort or frustration. It doesn’t actually ever get to the root of the problem.
We have to begin to ask ourselves,
What does this bring up for me?
What am I really needing?
Did it start here, or is this a much older pattern?
Then, if needed, we can step into a different type of conversation. One that takes responsibility for our part in this frustrating dynamic. And that’s how we begin to break the cycle of criticism and learn how to begin walking toward deeper levels of intimacy and closeness in our relationships.
In the Relationship Workshop beginning Oct 23, we deep dive into conflict - what it is, how it feels, how we show up, and how to start to navigate it with more honesty, integrity, and safety.
This is the last workshop of 2025!
https://theeqschool.co/relationship-management-workshop