Criticism who wants it, and what is it good for?

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. 
 
 
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.
If you are passionate and you believe in what you are doing, it’s part of your purpose and what you believe is the right thing.  You should have strong enough convictions that you are doing the best thing you can to serve the people around you.  Then authentic criticism will fuel you to continue to work harder at the task. It won’t allow the other person to tear you apart emotionally,  or frustrate you. You can move toward accepting the criticism graciously and even go so far as to ask questions and hold conversations about how it may improve the final outcome of your goal.
 Seek the positive angle in the criticism. Unfortunately, criticism is often negative. There are people who hear the word criticism or critic and react with negativity and fear of rejection.  In fact, that’s probably the automatic reaction to anyone questioning your ability or authority about a specific subject to which you identify your personal ability and skills with.  However, there are other people who have managed their own perceptions. They react positively, and believe it or not think to themselves “Oh awesome, I’m being critiqued today.  Someone is taking the time  to give me suggestions.”  So with criticism, it’s a moral imperative to find the positive aspects of it or disregard it so it doesn’t influence your positive attitude.
 
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.
So in a nutshell, if someone is a loser and they are criticism you to make themselves feel better.  Consider the source, and ignore them. Just feel bad for them, as they have no idea what you are about to accomplish.  I find that at the end of the day the person with the most confidence and emotional frame will win, and the other person will come to acknowledge the other persons intentions positively.
 
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.

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