are you an encourager or a discourager??

hi folks,,, i guess by my title that you already have an answer. i have to share this story with you cause it sadden me to read it, i receive a lot of emails from beginners. but the one i got some time ago made me think. the one person that emailed me photos of their work, i was amazed how great the carving were and email back quickly to tell them what a wonderful carvings they had done. folks it was wonderful, for a beginner that just starting out to have advanced so quickly was wonderful, i dont really know how long they were carving but new in their eyes, when i receive another email, they were amazed that i said it was wonderful, and almost didnt know how to handle the praise i gave to them. then here is the sad part, they never let others see their work other than the family, cause other folks were always saying how to fix this or that. sad isnt it, that talent was hidden cause of the reaction from people, what if someone would have said thats a wonderful piece of art? and leave it at that. how much more would that have encourage them to continue? i dont know about you but i dont need to be discouraged, do you ? if your going to tell someone what is wrong with a carving , then make sure you tell them what is right!! its easy to discourage folks, than to encourage. how many folks got ahead in life with discouragement? not many that i know of,,, most artist had someone that encouraged them along the way. i am not saying you cant correct someone, but folks if you do it has to be in the right setting, and know what your talking about. and only if correcting them will help them do better. and a correction done with the right tone is important. there is enough in life that discourages us, so be an encourager to other carvers, and artist you meet along the way. so which are you an encourager or a discourager??