Take a Look in the Mirror
When I was a child, my mother frequently had to remind me to wash behind my ears. Similarly, when I was brushing my hair, she would also remind me that I had a back to my head. Clearly, I did not use a mirror and was only focused on the front of my face and the front of my hair.
What I could not see, I did not bother about.
As an adult I have learned that I do have to take care of the whole person. Just because I can’t see behind my ears or the back of my head without the use of a mirror doesn’t mean that others can’t see there either. They certainly can.
The same applies to the way we act or behave particularly in the interactions we have with other people. Others can and do see the faults that we sometimes overlook or of which we are apparently unaware.
In fact, it is quite a human tendency to readily spot other people’s imperfections without taking care of our own. We criticize our fellow workers or even members of our family often without realizing just how imperfect we are ourselves – and sometimes in the same areas.
Just as I had to learn to take care of washing behind my ears and to brush the hair at the back of my head, the true professional first takes care of dealing with their own imperfections before even thinking about pointing out the imperfections of others.
Take a look in the mirror before pointing out other people’s faults.
