The Thinking Behind The Tweet

According to history or legend, when the great Henry Ford was caught in a very compromising situation he said, "Never complain, never explain". We cannot believe everything we read, so - perhaps Henry Ford was never in that compromising situation and even if he was perhaps he never said that never-never quip. And, perhaps Henry Ford was simply making timely use of the wisdom expressed earlier by the great British statesman, Benjamin Disraeli?

Regardless, Disraeli or Ford or both, "Never complain, never explain" makes for an interesting story-example of what makes great men great.

PS: "...the parasites live where the great have little secret sores."

Many people have a negative impression of Friedrich Nietzsche. I'm not one of them. Just after Disraeli's death, when Ford was a young man, Nietzsche wrote those words. ['Thus Spoke Zarathustra'...written in 4 parts, during the 1880's]

The Thinking Behind The Tweet

When we criticize others they tend to carry on the tradition by criticizing the people the encounter...they criticize the person in front of them in the Tim Horton's drive-thru or their children who are not taking homework quite seriously enough, etc., etc., ad nauseam.

All of us seem to be hard-wired to be critical of others...at least, the vast majority of us seem to possess and illustrate this human condition. Despite that fact, very few of us find value in receiving criticism. Very few of us indeed...

Regardless of how we deliver and receive criticism from others, most people - when you cut through their external facade: whether arrogant, or brave, or puzzled, or aggrieved most people - are quite critical of themselves. We should neither forget nor underestimate this aversion to criticism. Even people who are very tough on themselves don't like it when others treat them that way.

The Thinking Behind The Tweet

Our fingers naturally point outwards. Perhaps, that's why we point at others when it's time to place blame.