Make it your habit not to be critical about small things.

"Make it your habit not to be critical about small things." Thus counseled Edward Everett Hale, the American clergyman and writer, whose words strike with quiet strength. His teaching is this: that life is too short, and the heart too precious, to be wasted in petty judgments. To dwell upon small things with bitterness is to shrink the soul; to overlook them with grace is to enlarge it.

The ancients knew this wisdom. The Stoics taught that a man should not be disturbed by trifles, for they are beneath the dignity of reason. Marcus Aurelius wrote in his Meditations that we must rise above minor irritations, like one standing on a mountain who sees the dust below as nothing. To make a habit of patience and forbearance was, to them, a mark of the wise.

History gives us the life of Abraham Lincoln. Surrounded by critics, mocked for his appearance, belittled for his voice, he did not waste himself in answering every insult. He let the small things pass, saving his strength for the battles that mattered: the union of a nation, the freedom of millions. Had he been critical of every slight, he would have been consumed. Instead, he made it his habit to look past them, and so he endured.

So too in every household and friendship, this truth resounds. How many quarrels are born not from great wrongs, but from trifles magnified by pride? A word spoken hastily, a gesture misread, a duty forgotten—these are the small things. If we meet them with constant criticism, love withers. But if we let them go, love grows strong, and peace remains.

Therefore, let this lesson endure: build within yourself the habit of mercy. Be not quick to judge, nor eager to pounce upon faults. Reserve your strength for the great matters—justice, truth, and virtue—and let the small things fall away like leaves in the wind. For he who is not critical of trifles walks in freedom, but he who clings to them becomes their prisoner. True wisdom is magnanimity, and magnanimity begins with overlooking the little.