People who live in glass houses

A broken window.
Nobody is perfect.
Don’t criticize others unless you want others to criticize you.
(Photo: Canva | Text: David/ArtisanEnglish.jp)

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Proverb: People who live in glass houses shouldn’t throw stones

Estimated reading time: 2 minutes

Admit it! You enjoy criticizing others when they make a mistake as much as I do.

We both need to remember that people who live in glass houses shouldn’t throw stones.


I know that sounds strange because living in a glass house would make it extremely awkward to take a shower or have any privacy.

That is beside the point.


This is a proverb, and it means if you are vulnerable to criticism, you should not criticize others.


I have news for you. No one is perfect.

We all make mistakes, yes, even me. Actually, especially me.

That’s why I try to check, double-check and triple-check everything.

My mother always told me that I should never criticize anyone unless I had never made a mistake.

You see, criticism is a boomerang; it comes back to you.

If at work you sternly criticize someone for making a silly mistake, I guarantee you; you will sooner or later make a dumb mistake too.


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When people who live in glass houses throw stones, they damage themselves two ways.

First, they highlight themselves as an A-hole, then they open themselves up for criticism when they make the same or a similar mistake.

Wisdom is passed down to us from our ancestors through proverbs or learning the hard way.

Let me tell you a secret – the hard way is hard.

Listen to the proverb, people who live in glass houses shouldn’t throw stones.

The next time you feel like yelling at someone for doing a stupid thing, think about how you would feel if the shoe was on the other foot.

Be nice. You may still be an A-hole, but you’ll be a nice one.


Flesch-Kincaid Readability Test

This post is understandable by someone with at least a 7th-grade education (age 12).

On the Flesch-Kincaid reading-ease test, this post scores 78.

The easier a passage is to read, the higher the score on a scale of 0 – 100.