Simply no matter what you do in life, you will be criticized for it. Whether you’re a Doctor,
lawyer, artist,
plumber, chef, or an executive, it just doesn’t seem to matter what career you choose, there will inevitably be criticism. Everyone will handle criticism differently. If your the type of person who takes the criticism personally, and attaches it to your identity it could result in really hurt your career and ultimately your ability to develop as a person. Your self-confidence and ego could be destroyed. Worse yet, when we are upset by something, there is often a tendency react, and even overreact. Ultimately with criticism, it is much better to take a breath, think about it and then respond.
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Awesome responses to criticism
First, if you love what you do your work will reflect that. Passionately enjoying what you do, for work or hobby, you will find yourself becoming more open to outside criticism. Unfortunately often if it’s just a hobby or something you just do for money, you may not have mastered the task well enough, and criticism will be taken much more personally. If you are able to fill your own bucket, have confidence that you are one of the best at what you do, if the criticism is constructive, you will use it to make you better at what you’re doing. If it’s not constructive, but just mean or criticism for the sake of it, consider the source. Many times people are just feeling bad about themselves and they are just trying to bring you to there level.
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Consider the source
It never ceases to frustrate me when people are critical of what I’m doing because they are having a fear of missing out. Be it family or friends, who truly in their heart have the best of intentions, but they don’t want to be alone in their state of failure. So they criticize what you are doing because it just doesn’t make sense to them, or they can’t process why you are doing what you are doing. Now sometimes family will sarcastically make comments, but it may be an attempt to use humor to overcome their lack of understanding. However, sometimes it a feeling of inadequacy that drives their ambition to help you to fell that what you are doing is wrong, or you are just not doing it right.
For example, for years I heard nicknames like a highlighter, and lighthouse because I wore bright yellow shirts. Ironically now they are in fashion so I don’t get as much ribbing over them, but my family and friends were trying to help me to see that what I was doing didn’t blend into what the social norm is. But, what I never bothered to tell them was that I was presenting a stoic inclination for worst case scenario that I was going to be rejected by society at large, and moreover, I frankly had too much confidence in my mission to allow them to slow me down with ridicule for something that I believed it. Yes, I did sometimes make excuses, such as I ride a motorcycle. But, as a rule, I just make jokes right along with them. “It’s bear hunting season, and I don’t want anyone to mistake me for bigfoot!” Lol. Sometimes its just easier to go along with it to defuse the issue, instead of arguing back with frustration and overreact.
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Where do you land on criticism?
Let’s face it, you are going to be criticized by people in all facets of your life. Work, hobbies, church, virtually any time you are interacting with others in any social environment. But if you are careful to integrate a system to better handle the criticism and use it to your advantage. If it’s worthwhile, and you respect the person criticism (coach, mentor, etc) use it to help you to grow and create a different outcome. So seek to surround yourself with friends, family, or a mastermind that will positively support your goals, instead of people who tear you down. Over time, you may begin to look forward to and welcome criticism. Now, this probably sounds crazy, but give it time.