John Shelby Spong Quotes

I've never met anybody who was helped by being told how wretched, miserable and sinful they are.

If you keep telling a youngster he is no good, he might begin to doubt himself. A pat on the back could bring the very best out of him.

No one likes to be criticized.

The resentment that criticism engenders can demoralize employees, family members and friends, and still not correct the situation that has been condemned.

Praise is sunshine; it warms, it inspires, it promotes growth; blame and rebuke are rain and hail; they beat down and bedraggle, even though they may at times be necessary.

Sir, there is no end of negative criticism.

You can learn a lot from criticism if you can take what's constructive out of it. If you read a review that starts with, 'This person is an idiot; who do they think they are?', you're not going to learn anything from that.

I looked on IMDB, at the message boards there, and someone had posted something about a sheep having more talent than me.

Whenever we condemn, we cloak the world in pain.

On a single day, I read articles where I was described as being alternately 'lanky,' 'pudgy,' 'doughy,' 'balding,' 'utterly forgettable,' and 'constantly irritating.'

I try not to read best-dressed lists or anything like that. For every good thing, there will often be a not-so-nice thing people would say.

I've never felt like I needed to change. I've always thought, 'If you want somebody different, pick somebody else.' But sure, criticism can sometimes still get to me. Some things are so malicious, they knock the wind out of you.

It's lovely to be told you're wonderful by someone when you're used to being told how awful you are.

I used to not be confident. My father certainly didn't add to my confidence. When I was 17 or 18, I was voted the most beautiful girl in England by the association of press photographers. When they called Daddy for a comment, he said, 'I'm amazed. She's a nice looking girl, but nothing special.'

It's so sad, actually, how teachers and parents tell their kids, 'You're never gonna be anything.'

If somebody comes up and says something good about you, that is never taken as an adhesive thing like something negative about you.

People are too quick to criticize and condemn. We've got to be more positive.

If one person in a thousand criticized me while all the others cheered, I didn't hear the cheers.

If you live for the compliments, you'll die by the criticism.

Reading nice stuff about you is lovely, but I know it's going to be soul-destroying when you do something that everyone is tearing apart.

You don't feel good about being criticised, especially when you've been loved so much.

Shaming people isn't productive. That makes you feel bad about yourself.

I want to hear good things. I don't want to hear any negative things about me. It makes me look bad. It makes me feel bad. It makes my family look bad.

Always praise 'em before you hit 'em.

I'm not a natural criticizer - I prefer to like and praise and so on.