Learning to Deal wih Criticism

Adekolade M. Adekusibe 7:17am Dec 1 ☀ LEARNING TO DEAL WITH CRITICISM ☀ Possibly the most difficult part of whatever we do is learning to deal with critics. It's hard to hear someone express a negative opinion on something you've put your love, heart and soul in to create or do. But the key thing to remember is -- it's just their opinion. Criticism has been around as long as life exist. The hardest part of getting criticism is listening to it first hand. If you have just dedicated yourself to your project, work, job or what have you. To hear someone berate your work is simply never easy to take. Whatever they say, it's an opinion that you can either let affect you or you can ignore. Unfortunately, the rule with anything you do is the rule of thirds: one-third of the people will love you; one-third will hate you (no matter what you do); and the last third won't really care either way -- they might like or dislike you depending on your project, work, job or whatever you do. So, if you can't sway 100% of the people, 100% of the time, your new rule should be -- don't try to. If you focus exclusively on doing or creating the best project, work, job or whatever you have in mind, you can, and you pour your passion and love into everything you do, then your chances for success improve dramatically. If you stick to your convictions, you will eventually find that one-third of the people will love your work. And as for the rest -- you need to develop the attitude of, "who cares what they think?" ☀ DONT LET FEAR STOP ☀ One of the biggest obstacles keeping people from succeeding is the fear of failure. The fear of being humiliated and feeling like a loser. There isn't a single person who hasn't had some failure in their lives. The difference is that they kept going even when the overwhelming opinion of their work was negative. Failures teach you more than success ever will -- as long as you're willing to learn from them. If you feel that fear of failure or being humiliated is keeping you from living your dreams then do whatever you can to break its grip. You have to get over these fears and realize that they are doing nothing but holding you back from everything you want in life. Let it go and don't be afraid to fail. ☀ CONSTRUCTIVE CRITICISM ☀ This is not meant to imply that all criticism is useless. There is actually some value in quite a bit of criticism. Take the important lessons that are being offered up within the context of someone's opinion -- ONLY IF YOU AGREE WITH THEM. Remember, just because someone feels a certain way doesn't mean that their way is better than yours, unless you happen to agree. Learn which battles to fight and be careful not to stick to your convictions simply because you want to prove the other person wrong. If you see that their comments might dramatically improve whatever it is that you're working on, well it might be something to consider integrating into whatever work you are doing. Don't let the fear of receiving criticism keep you from going after your career. Those who have succeeded in life will tell you first hand' that: "once they realized that they no longer had to worry about having to have everyone like who they are and what they did, it opened up their abilities to become successful". Do not allow what people say about your works, or your dreams affect you in a negative manner? Do not allow the doubts in your own mind to stop you from getting to the places that you truly have the ability to go. Never let fear of criticism rule who you can become. There will always be those who dislike you and what you do -- let them be and remember to tell yourself -- it's their loss. Adekolade M. Adekusibe www.facebook.com/adekolade.adekusibe www.twitter.com/adekoladey