5 Ways to Respond to Criticism
When I say criticism, I mean specifically constructive criticism. I don’t mean comments like, “You are an idiot” or “Your talk absolutely sucked.” Constructive criticism is criticism that comes from a perspective of wanting to help. That doesn’t mean that even constructive criticism can’t hurt but this type of criticism has at least the potential of being beneficial.
When we receive criticism, we may not be able to control how we feel, but we can control how we respond. Here are five ways to respond to criticism.
- Reject the criticism as an insult to your abilities and skills.
- Follow the directions of the critic completely out of fear of offending them.
- Put yourself in a position where you will not receive criticism from anyone again.
- Second guess every future decision out of fear of future criticism.
- Listen to the criticism, embrace what is useful and reject that which is not.
I would suggest that number five is the best, but I will also admit that I have attempted all the other four at some time in my life.
