How to Handle Criticism

A creative life cannot be sustained by approval any more than it can be destroyed by criticism.

Will Self

You often wonder why life is so unfair! You take painstaking effort to fulfill your duties both at home and at work, yet your family members at home and your boss and colleagues in the office never have a good word to say about you. Instead, you are mostly criticized on some pretext or the other.

Haven’t we all experienced this!!?? These are tough times we live in!

Criticism is a kind of evaluation or judgment, which may be either good or bad. When someone criticizes you, they are evaluating you according to a certain set of standards which they may have carved out conforming to their own beliefs and values.

Criticism may be constructive or destructive – it is up to you to use your wisdom and perceptive power to differentiate between the two. That definitely is a challenge, but you can do it with resolve.

Our first reaction to criticism is generally negative. This is because we have always believed that people who criticize us are either jealous of us or have poor judgment. In fact, they may even be lacking knowledge about the subject that they are criticizing you for!

Well, that may be true sometimes, but not all the time. There are times when people who point out your mistakes do so with good intentions. They are genuine well-wishers who want you to rectify your mistakes and make progress. So, don’t be in a hurry to discard such advice. Accept it with a calm mind and positive mindset and take corrective steps. Don’t procrastinate.

Those who offer constructive criticism do so in a gentle and encouraging manner. Their concern is not superficial. Their sole aim in giving you honest feedback about your actions or performance is to make you aware of areas of improvement. It would be a lesson well learnt. When you recognize constructive criticism, which you should, you must express gratitude to the giver for wanting you to succeed.

Destructive criticism, on the other hand, is meant to break your spirit. It is conveyed in a mocking and insulting manner. It is hurtful and malicious. Such criticism creates feelings of inferiority and inadequacy that can adversely impact your, mental state, self-esteem, self-belief and creativity. If and when you notice a pattern of destructive criticism involving a particular individual, you need to cut off any association with that individual, however close they may be.

So the idea is to identify and accept advice that is meant to uplift you and turn a deaf ear to those who are waiting for you to fail.

How do you handle criticism? Share your experiences with us.

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