Believing yourself better than others is pretty dangerous. I'm not saying I never do it, but even when I do it I always put a little asterisk by the thought in my mind, because I'm not that great. Even though there are differences in skill levels (RP and otherwise), it's not like we're a bunch of published authors blowing time in Eorzea before our next script is due.
I find that if you want to criticize (yourself and others) comparisons are extremely unhelpful. It doesn't matter if that person is worse than you. What matters is simple: they're doing something poorly. Delve into why and give advice tactfully and thoughtfully to fix the problem or seek to avoid them. Looking down on them is supremely unhelpful (though sometimes a guilty pleasure we all fall victim to, myself included).
And I cannot emphasis enough the previously bolded portion. Whenever you seek to criticize others you ought to consider what's motivating you in doing so. Are you pointing out faults to satisfy some kind of selfish drive or are you looking to positively alter the problem you're criticizing? If it's the former, keep your thoughts private. If it's the latter, well, give it a lot of thought. Try very hard to remain easy to digest.
Education isn't easy. Nevermind the difficulty of transmitting ideas or the possibility that the student is incapable of learning and executing them, in this arena there's the added difficulty of them disagreeing that they've done anything wrong to begin with. It takes a lot of effort to breach such topics, and even more to remain constructive. In the end, it's hard to look at conflict as worth resolving. UNLESS you're dealing with an exceptional person, and sometimes you are (back to the whole 'elite' few thing).
So my most cynical of conclusions? Learn not to engage. Look for the rare few who are humble enough to listen to the suggestions of others without becoming defensive or agitated. They're the truly elite.
I find that if you want to criticize (yourself and others) comparisons are extremely unhelpful. It doesn't matter if that person is worse than you. What matters is simple: they're doing something poorly. Delve into why and give advice tactfully and thoughtfully to fix the problem or seek to avoid them. Looking down on them is supremely unhelpful (though sometimes a guilty pleasure we all fall victim to, myself included).
And I cannot emphasis enough the previously bolded portion. Whenever you seek to criticize others you ought to consider what's motivating you in doing so. Are you pointing out faults to satisfy some kind of selfish drive or are you looking to positively alter the problem you're criticizing? If it's the former, keep your thoughts private. If it's the latter, well, give it a lot of thought. Try very hard to remain easy to digest.
Education isn't easy. Nevermind the difficulty of transmitting ideas or the possibility that the student is incapable of learning and executing them, in this arena there's the added difficulty of them disagreeing that they've done anything wrong to begin with. It takes a lot of effort to breach such topics, and even more to remain constructive. In the end, it's hard to look at conflict as worth resolving. UNLESS you're dealing with an exceptional person, and sometimes you are (back to the whole 'elite' few thing).
So my most cynical of conclusions? Learn not to engage. Look for the rare few who are humble enough to listen to the suggestions of others without becoming defensive or agitated. They're the truly elite.
