How to Handle Criticism

When it comes to criticism in your life, usually either through a family or job situation, there is more than one way to handle it. In this article, I will discuss some ideas on how to handle criticism in a healthy way.

1) First, before anything else you need to determine the motivation of the person giving you criticism.

This is extremely important because it's the difference between someone trying to correct you because he or she cares about you and someone who just wants to tear you down for some reason. If your emotions are tense, it may be hard to be objective about this at first. Give it some thought however.

2) Realize that no one is perfect and that mistakes happen.

If there's something about the criticism that can help you improve, try to approach it with as positive of an attitude as possible because it may make you better even in a small way. The important thing is not to take it so personally that it discourages you from moving forward.

3) Realize that not everyone is going to share your point-of-view on things.

If you make pleasing everyone your main goal, you're honestly going to have a hard time accomplishing anything significant in life. You can look at any famous or successful person when they were in the process of achieving something, and almost all had their share of critics. Don't expect to be able to handle it overnight, but over time it does get less emotional when it happens to you.

More Tips:

• If you're in a leadership position, it's better to build people up and encourage them on a daily basis than constantly criticize. This way when you do have a suggestion, you've built up respect from showcasing what that same person has done right.
• A book that really helped me when it came to the relationship between success and encountering critical people is called The Dreamgiver by Bruce Wilkerson. It's a great book if you've never read it.