Sometimes we want to improve ourselves. Sometimes we want to help others improve.

But pointing out what someone does wrong (just criticizing them) can do little to make that change. Somedays, I have this internal voice that is constantly telling me everything that I do wrong in my life.

And that negative voice does not inspire me to improve.

My brother, William, said today that he wished that everyone could learn a language. He said when he was first learning the language, he didn’t like when he was corrected. But as he got better and better, he started to appreciate any corrections. When we think we are good at something, we want to do better.

So change only happens when it comes from a place of positivity.

It’s so much easier to become a better person when you think you are a good person in the first place.

It’s easier to become better at piano or writing or drawing or cooking or anything if you tell yourself that you are doing a good job and that you want to do even better.

So when we want to improve ourselves, or we want someone we know to improve, start with positivity. Start with praise: you are good at something, but you can be even better.

That positivity will be the catalyst for change.