Falling Short

At the beginning of my working life I devised a dictum of sorts that struck me, callow as I was, as reasonably wise and useful. It went like this: Be hard on yourself; be easy on others. Thinking about it today I must say it sounds even wiser than it did some thirty-odd years ago, and even more useful. In that light, I offer it to the world.

I wish I were able to say I'd lived up to it over those thirty-plus years. But I haven't. Still it's something to aspire to, especially following those rueful moments of reflection on the damage done.