Criticism and how to deal with it
This post contains affiliate links that help supports this blog and cost you the exact same. If you do not wish to use affiliate links, then feel free to google the product.
Criticism can be crippling, and even more so, the fear of being criticized can be crippling. Thankfully there is a way for us to deal with it.
As humans, we are social beings that strive to be accepted by a tribe, even when that tribe itself is unique and not as readily accepted by society as a whole. Growing up in generations past, being accepted by our clan, our tribe, meant the difference between life and death. Now, in today’s world, that fear of not belonging can be manifested by a simple negative comment on a post.
I constantly fear being criticized and it has crippled me into not sharing my ideas for years.
We all suffer from it
This may be the most disturbing part of criticism but it can also be our saving grace. When we accept that no matter how great someone is there will always be those who criticize them, whether it’s on their policies, their prose, their design, or their appearance. This is extremely helpful to know because it means that it is not the fault of the individual being criticized. Instead, it just means that not everyone resonated with their idea.
Our tribe exists
In a world of almost 8 billion people, there will always be a tribe that exists and agrees. The difficulty comes in ignoring those who disagree and finding your tribe. Remember that negativity has the ability to wipe all of the positive in our mind, and just because you get one negative comment does not mean your idea didn’t help at least one other person.
Dealing with Criticism
The most impactful strategy I have used to help deal with criticism is by putting people into camps and trying to understand why they are spreading negativity.
Camp 1: People are giving constructive criticism because they care about you and their goal is to help you succeed. This is often your family, your spouse, or your best friends. Take this criticism in and review it, you get to decide if you accept it or not.
Camp 2: Couch coaches, these people are frustrating but harmless. These are the people that have watched 10 Youtube videos on the topic and think they know it all but haven’t actually put that knowledge into practice, or tried to explain anything to anyone else. Just give these comments a “thanks for your feedback” response and move on.
Camp 3: Negative people. No matter what you do these people will criticize you. It could be that they are going through a rough patch in their life and they feel the need to spread negative in hopes of making themselves feel better. This can also be manifested in their own fear of failure. Regardless of the cause, these people and their comments have nothing to do with you and the quality of your information. It is all about them. Thank them for their feedback and move.
Keep moving
Focus on improving your craft and put out work you are proud of. The more you put yourself out there the more you will be criticized; however, much more importantly, the more you will help others. It will never be perfect, but it does not need to be.
Summary:
No matter how great you are, you will be criticized
You do not have a choice of being criticized, but you get to choose what you do with it
Most people that criticize have never done the thing they are criticizing on. If they had they would know how hard it is to share
DO NOT criticize others. Life is hard enough, there is no benefit to spreading negativity
