Criticism

Something no one likes, we all wish we could do without, but most of us benefit from in the end: criticism. In your time in school or work, I am sure you’ve had to go through peer review or peer edits, it’s inevitable. We use criticism to help evaluate our shortcomings and our talents to see what we can hone and what we can improve. It’s not necessarily a kind or a cruel concept, something that is simply neutral and honest. That may be what makes it so hard for us to accept, but it’s important that we try to accept it if we want to develop beyond our mediocrities.

I’ve said it before and you’ve no doubt heard it before, so I’ll say it again for those of you in the back--life is all about growth. We find our purpose and we develop our skills to enhance our experiences with that purpose. We try to be the best and we work hard to do our jobs and take care of ourselves and those we care about. It’s only natural that some of us tend to feel a little bitter when we get criticized. Sometimes the criticism comes from a biased source, other times it comes from a place of concern, and often we just do not take it well at all. Conflict is something we are all aware of, it stems from a disagreement between any two things, people, or processes. People hate to be judged, but they do it because it is simply human nature. Since criticism comes from that same place, we fall into the routine of rejection, denial, or outright anger--this causes conflict.

We hope that when we encounter criticism that we have the emotional, mental, and professional maturity to accept it if it is true/helpful, or ignore it if it comes from a place of bias or slander. Regardless, there comes a time when we have to discern the origin of criticism and judgment and understand that we have the luxury of choosing how we feel and thus how we react to criticism. One of the most important skills we can therefore develop is how to respond to criticism and use it for our benefit.