Critics are people whose opinions are valued by others, and we're all critics to someone. Perhaps your children look to you for approval on food, movies or entertainment. Or maybe it's your contemporaries with whom you look for guidance. Or maybe you read and contribute on a blog of like-minded people who offer their evaluations of music or stereo that help guide your decisions.
The greater number of choices we encounter, the more we rely on others to help us select from the list of options. We simply cannot know all the music available, all the stereos to purchase, all the restaurants to eat at, all the political party to back, all the computers to purchase, or all the places to visit on vacation. There are just too many choices. Things weren't quite so complicated even a few years ago and yet... As the roles of critics becomes increasingly important, many find greater comfort and safety in following their suggestions rather than making their own choice. But there's a downside to this route and most critics worth their salt will tell you so. The more you abdicate your role of decision maker, the greater the chance of isolating yourself from failure. And failure is as important as success, perhaps more so.
Be careful of working hard at not failing. It is failure that shapes us more than our successes.
