--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Criticism polishes my mirror." description: "\"Criticism polishes my mirror.\" — Rumi" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/214/rumi-56_criticism_criticism-polishes-my-mirror-3172809_3172809.jpg" --- # Criticism polishes my mirror. ![“Criticism polishes my mirror.” quote by Rumi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/214/rumi-56_criticism_criticism-polishes-my-mirror-3172809_3172809.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/214/rumi-56_criticism_criticism-polishes-my-mirror-3172809_3172809.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/214/rumi-56_criticism_criticism-polishes-my-mirror-3172809_3172809.jpg) > “Criticism polishes my mirror.” [Rumi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rumi/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Rumi suggests that criticism refines and improves a person, like polishing a mirror to reveal a clearer reflection. **In simple terms:** Criticism improves us, like polishing a mirror. Key Takeaway Embrace constructive feedback for personal growth. Themes self‑improvement reflection humility learning growth mindset Mood thoughtful encouraging philosophical Type advice reflective philosophical When to use this quote - creative writing - personal journaling - coaching sessions - performance reviews Key Concepts self‑reflection feedback loops personal development philosophical introspection Questions to Reflect On - How can we give criticism that builds rather than breaks? - When does criticism become destructive? A Different Perspective Criticism can be harsh and demotivating if not delivered kindly. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Criticism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/criticism/) [Criticism Polishes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/criticism-polishes-5782227/) [Inspirational](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/inspirational/) [Mirror](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mirror/) [Mirrors](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mirrors/) [Polish](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/polish/) [Polishes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/polishes-5782228/) [Polishes Mirror](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/polishes-mirror-5782226/) ## Related quotes > [The one who has a good friend doesn't need any mirror.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rumi/the-one-who-has-a-good-friend-doesn-t-need-any-mirror/) [Rumi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rumi/) > [The world is a mirror, an imaging of Love's perfection.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rumi/the-world-is-a-mirror-an-imaging-of-love-s-perfection/) [Rumi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rumi/) > [No mirror ever became iron again; No bread ever became wheat; No ripened grape ever became sour fruit. Mature yourself and be secure from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rumi/no-mirror-ever-became-iron-again-no-bread-ever-became-wheat-no/) [Rumi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rumi/) > [We can't find the truth listening to our own voice's echo. We can find ourselves only in someone's mirror](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rumi/we-can-t-find-the-truth-listening-to-our-own-voice-s-echo-we-can-find/) [Rumi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rumi/) > [Hoping to fashion a mirror, the lover doth polish the face of his beloved until he produces a skull.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-updike/hoping-to-fashion-a-mirror-the-lover-doth-polish-the-face-of-his/) [John Updike](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-updike/) > [“When I am with you, we stay up all night. When you're not here, I can't go to sleep. Praise God for these two…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rumi/when-i-am-with-you-we-stay-up-all-night-when-you-re-not-here-i-can-t-2/) [Rumi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rumi/) > [Love is cure, Love is power, Love is the magic of changes. Love is the mirror, of divine beauty!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rumi/love-is-cure-love-is-power-love-is-the-magic-of-changes-love-is-the/) [Rumi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rumi/) > [Your heart mirrors not His love, Rusty with your sins it is, Remove this rust and you shall Perceive how Glorious He is.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rumi/your-heart-mirrors-not-his-love-rusty-with-your-sins-it-is-remove/) [Rumi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rumi/) > [If you could get rid of yourself just once, the secret of secrets would open to you. The face of the unknown, hidden beyond…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rumi/if-you-could-get-rid-of-yourself-just-once-the-secret-of-secrets/) [Rumi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rumi/) > [Let Go of Your Worries Let go of your worries and be completely clear-hearted, like the face of a mirror that contains no images.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rumi/let-go-of-your-worries-let-go-of-your-worries-and-be-completely-clear/) [Rumi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rumi/) > [Mirror, mirror, here I stand. Who is the fairest in the land?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/mirror-mirror-here-i-stand-who-is-the-fairest-in-the-land/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Smile in the mirror. Do that every morning and you'll start to see a big difference in your life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yoko-ono/smile-in-the-mirror-do-that-every-morning-and-you-ll-start-to-see-a/) [Yoko Ono](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yoko-ono/) > [I turned back to the mirror, seeing that there were no lines on it. It was empty. "What happened to my mirror?" I said,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kim-harrison/i-turned-back-to-the-mirror-seeing-that-there-were-no-lines-on-it-it/) [Kim Harrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kim-harrison/) > [But if a mirror ever makes you sad you should know that it does not know you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kabir/but-if-a-mirror-ever-makes-you-sad-you-should-know-that-it-does-not/) [Kabir](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kabir/) > [A Margo for each of us--and each more mirror than window.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/a-margo-for-each-of-us-and-each-more-mirror-than-window/) [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) ## More by Rumi > [The love religion is all that is written here.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rumi/the-love-religion-is-all-that-is-written-here/) [Rumi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rumi/) > [And so it is, that both the Devil and the angelic Spirit present us with objects of desire to awaken our power of choice.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rumi/and-so-it-is-that-both-the-devil-and-the-angelic-spirit-present-us/) [Rumi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rumi/) > [We began as mineral. We emerged into plant life, and into the animal state, and then into being human, and always we have forgotten…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rumi/we-began-as-mineral-we-emerged-into-plant-life-and-into-the-animal/) [Rumi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rumi/) > [There is a morning inside you waiting to burst open into light.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rumi/there-is-a-morning-inside-you-waiting-to-burst-open-into-light/) [Rumi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rumi/) > [Sometimes you hear a voice through the door calling you... This turning toward what you deeply love saves you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rumi/sometimes-you-hear-a-voice-through-the-door-calling-you-this-turning/) [Rumi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rumi/) > [“You’ve so distracted me, your absence fans my love. Don’t ask how. Then you come near. “Do not…” I say, and “Do not…,” you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rumi/you-ve-so-distracted-me-your-absence-fans-my-love-don-t-ask-how-then/) [Rumi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rumi/) > [There is something to be said for anyone who sits alone with dignity and silently begs for God.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rumi/there-is-something-to-be-said-for-anyone-who-sits-alone-with-dignity/) [Rumi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rumi/) > [Tis easy to break an idol, very easy: to regard the self as easy to subdue is folly, folly.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rumi/tis-easy-to-break-an-idol-very-easy-to-regard-the-self-as-easy-to/) [Rumi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rumi/) > [Today, let us swim wildly, joyously in gratitude.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rumi/today-let-us-swim-wildly-joyously-in-gratitude/) [Rumi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rumi/) > [I have no name for what circles so perfectly.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rumi/i-have-no-name-for-what-circles-so-perfectly/) [Rumi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rumi/) > [What draws friends together does not conform to the laws of nature.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rumi/what-draws-friends-together-does-not-conform-to-the-laws-of-nature/) [Rumi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rumi/) > [We are born of love. Love is our mother.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rumi/we-are-born-of-love-love-is-our-mother/) [Rumi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rumi/) > [Water, stories, the body, all the things we do, are mediums that hid and show what's hidden.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rumi/water-stories-the-body-all-the-things-we-do-are-mediums-that-hid-and/) [Rumi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rumi/) > [If your heart isn't yet illumined Be awake always, be a seeker of the heart, Be at war continually with your carnal soul. But…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rumi/if-your-heart-isn-t-yet-illumined-be-awake-always-be-a-seeker-of-the/) [Rumi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rumi/) > [“I came back to You because I could not find the kind and decent things I found in You anywhere else.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rumi/i-came-back-to-you-because-i-could-not-find-the-kind-and-decent/) [Rumi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rumi/) [Explore all 1,818 Rumi quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rumi/) ## More Criticism quotes > [Regardless of the criticisms I receive from the left, the right and the middle, I think it's important to maintain a prolific writing jab,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ishmael-reed/regardless-of-the-criticisms-i-receive-from-the-left-the-right-and/) [Ishmael Reed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ishmael-reed/) > [I receive something we might euphemistically call an 'inappropriately hostile' response - that is to say, more than fair criticism or even fair anger…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-beard/i-receive-something-we-might-euphemistically-call-an-inappropriately/) [Mary Beard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-beard/) > [A common fallacy in much of the adverse criticism to which science is subjected today is that it claims certainty, infallibility and complete emotional…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cyril-norman-hinshelwood/a-common-fallacy-in-much-of-the-adverse-criticism-to-which-science-is/) [Cyril Norman Hinshelwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cyril-norman-hinshelwood/) > [For some reason, we are truly convinced that if we criticize ourselves, the criticism will lead to change. If we are harsh, we believe…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/geneen-roth/for-some-reason-we-are-truly-convinced-that-if-we-criticize-ourselves/) [Geneen Roth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/geneen-roth/) > [I reject criticism because the last thing I wanted was to sit there and look at people talking. I think people are conditioned to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matt-tyrnauer/i-reject-criticism-because-the-last-thing-i-wanted-was-to-sit-there/) [Matt Tyrnauer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matt-tyrnauer/) > [I'm more comfortable modelling as a man because I don't get any criticism.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rain-dove/i-m-more-comfortable-modelling-as-a-man-because-i-don-t-get-any/) [Rain Dove](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rain-dove/) > [I don't mind positive criticism, but when it is negative and personal, it is quite hard.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/inzamam-ul-haq/i-don-t-mind-positive-criticism-but-when-it-is-negative-and-personal/) [Inzamam-ul-Haq](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/inzamam-ul-haq/) > [Judge a person not by his ability to make money but by his ability to retain it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vikrant-parsai/judge-a-person-not-by-his-ability-to-make-money-but-by-his-ability-to/) [Vikrant Parsai](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vikrant-parsai/) > [Everything is allowable in literature, but what is not allowable in criticism is objection on the grounds of probability.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howard-jacobson/everything-is-allowable-in-literature-but-what-is-not-allowable-in/) [Howard Jacobson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/howard-jacobson/) > [Lots of relationships fail because we spend more time pointing out each other's mistakes and not enough time enjoying each other's company.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/lots-of-relationships-fail-because-we-spend-more-time-pointing-out/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [If our aim is to praise, we should forget to criticize; if our aim is to criticize, we should remember to praise](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/if-our-aim-is-to-praise-we-should-forget-to-criticize-if-our-aim-is/) [Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/) > [No man can be criticised but by a greater than he. Do not, then, read the reviews.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/no-man-can-be-criticised-but-by-a-greater-than-he-do-not-then-read/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [People believe that criticism should be objective, whatever that means, but I really don't understand what people mean by that. I guess if you're…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-christgau/people-believe-that-criticism-should-be-objective-whatever-that-means/) [Robert Christgau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-christgau/) > [I welcome criticism. I come from a - I wouldn't say mean, but you've got to have tough skin to be in my family.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saweetie/i-welcome-criticism-i-come-from-a-i-wouldn-t-say-mean-but-you-ve-got/) [Saweetie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saweetie/) > [The good author is he who contemplates without marked joy or excessive sorrow the adventures of his soul amongst criticisms.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-conrad/the-good-author-is-he-who-contemplates-without-marked-joy-or/) [Joseph Conrad](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-conrad/) [Browse all 3,954 Criticism quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/criticism/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Criticism polishes my mirror.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Rumi" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rumi/criticism-polishes-my-mirror/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Criticism" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rumi/criticism-polishes-my-mirror/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/214/rumi-56_criticism_criticism-polishes-my-mirror-3172809_3172809.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/214/rumi-56_criticism_criticism-polishes-my-mirror-3172809_3172809.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/214/rumi-56_criticism_criticism-polishes-my-mirror-3172809_3172809.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Criticism polishes my mirror.” — Rumi", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Rumi", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rumi/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Criticism polishes my mirror.", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rumi/criticism-polishes-my-mirror/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rumi/criticism-polishes-my-mirror/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```