Growing up, I never had a need to be concise.
In fact, being concise just meant running out of things to say sooner. Circumstances were such that there was rarely any sort of time limit when it came to communicating ideas.
Then, starting in college, I started to receive criticisms about my tendency to drag on and on. At first, I blamed it on TV culture -- no one seemed to be able to have an attention span to focus on a thought or story that can't be made or told in a 30 second spot.
Even if that were true, it did not really help. What helped was when I started actively trying to change that, to be concise, and I still push to improve every time I sense people's attention begin to drift. I realized that if I could find ways to be clear and concise, I could increase the effectiveness and impact of the things I say tenfold. I could command an audience and have people open their ears to things I say.
--
Being concise is great, but I would not realize that value if not for criticism from those around me. The criticisms you receive are the finest gifts you'll ever get. You should treasure and study them, and repeat them to yourself more often than any of the compliments, until you start to improve.
Base your ego and confidence on your ability to adapt and change, not to the specifics of your current status. This way, you'll never have hesitancy in seeking and devouring criticisms of your character, getting at the root of the problem, and fixing it.
