When you work with humans, it is inevitable to encounter some kind of criticism. People love to express opinions and give ratings. So, the chance of receiving criticism is very high, especially when you work on projects in a team with many people. In such cases, you have to express your ideas and not someone else’s already known concepts.
Some of the feedback you receive may be invaluable to you, and some might be useless or even harmful. When you accept it is inevitable and you are prepared for it you will be better able to extract the valuable information and move on.
There are two main ways in which criticism affects people.
It either inspires them to be better and go further, or it forces them to feel underappreciated and lose all sense of motivation. To a large extent, it would depend on the way the criticism is served to you. But even so – a person who is unwilling to listen may be offended by the smallest suggestion that they can improve. A person trying to grow may easily take the most vicious personal attack and learn from it.
Nobody likes to hear they didn’t do well or that they’ve overlooked something. Thus, it’s natural our initial reaction to criticism is emotional. Yet, regardless of the way criticism affects you, the ability to use it to your advantage is indispensable. Instead of giving up, you should allow it to teach you something new you don’t know.
Be prepared in advance.
As already mentioned, criticism does not pass anyone by. Especially when you struggle to develop. The idea is you have to show your work to people, to present what you can do. When you do that, you should expect criticism. Expect there will always be people who disagree with you. In this manner, it is best to prepare in advance.
Expect criticism, so it can’t surprise you in any way. Imagine a situation in which your reaction can embarrass you or harm you. What are you going to do? You can’t afford to lose control. You can’t afford to get angry. You have to know when criticism is coming, therefore think about it in advance.
Train how to react.
You know yourself best and you should know how creative criticism would make you feel. If you think there is something to improve about the way it motivates you, work on in.
Practice how to listen. This is also a valuable skill. To learn more about this art form read farther below.
Train how to recognize it – is it well-intentioned. Does it point out your shortcomings, or is it meant to make you angry? If you prepare an accurate way, you will become much more mentally resilient than you imagined.
Listen.
Being an excellent listener is not an easy task, especially for some people.
What is left when criticized? The moment a person feels attacked, he closes his inner self. He shuts down all his senses. He is already offended and whatever is said to him, he finds it as annoying noise. And that’s it. The process of perception is stopped. But, is this productive in any way?
What if they said something interesting and useful? Did you miss it in your primal displeasure? If anyone has something to tell you, you better hear it. Otherwise, you will never know what you’re missing. You will never achieve something better or more original because you will never realize it exists.
Focus on productive information. Not the positive.
Measuring all possible choices ahead is tied to your knowledge of your skills. The fine option is the one that will create for you even better possibilities. Developing the skill to recognize the useful feedback from the bad one takes time and effort to grow.
When faced with a comprehensive evaluation of your creative work, you must select what to accept and what to reject. It is worth repeating that people like to give an opinion. They like giving their views, and that won’t change soon.
Here comes the memorable moment when you have to decide what part of the criticism to accept. In most cases, it will rarely be only purely positive or negative. It will be a mixture of the two. The reason for this is that in one case the critic will be extremely rude. In the second they will idealize someone other than themselves (and people do not like praising too much). As yet, your focus must not be on the negative and the positive, but on the productive. This is what you should be interested in. The rest is nonsense. They may indeed be only harmless lies. Therefore, sifting through what is given to you.
Productive criticism is what will help you move farther ahead. What corresponds to the truth deserves your attention. But don’t confuse the opinion you like with what is real. Don’t confuse positive information with productive material. If you like hearing something, that doesn’t mean it’s accurate or helpful to you.
Do not ignore your own opinion. Give yourself credit for the work done.
No one is saying every opinion is unimportant or that you should always consult only yourself. It’s about appreciating your vision, but always being open to suggestions. Yet, as in anything, there is a hierarchy in criticism. Some are more valuable than others.
With that in mind, look at your assessment and be honest with yourself. You can constantly compare the criticism to what you think. Do you agree with it? If not, why not? If you are great, then you are on the right track! Someone else perceives what you saw.
What you believe about the work you do is not to be neglected (whether you are happy with yourself or not). This is what matters the most. Anyone can provide you with feedback. But don’t forget to give yourself credit too. After all, you create the product. Pat yourself on the back and say to yourself either “Well done!” or “Be better next time.” This is an effective way to motivate yourself. Otherwise, if you run after other people’s ideas, you will completely lose your creativity.
As a last resort, you can always get past it.
Sometimes, no matter how much you look for usability, it is not there. In such a case, it’s best to ignore the criticism. Especially if the situation is inappropriate. If criticism is only meant to make you angry or demotivate you, it is useless. In such a case, you don’t have to waste your energy. It’s not even worth letting it evoke any emotion in you.
Naturally, consider this advice as a last resort. If you evaluate all the options outlined above and none of them work, you can just get past the criticism. After all, you don’t owe anyone anything. You do not have to answer or follow someone else’s views. Every so often the most appropriate reaction is to shut up.
Summary
Remember, you only have to keep going if you want to achieve what you set out to perform. The option to give up a critic is only suitable only when you know what you are accomplishing is not for you. There are periods when a person is aiming parts of himself to develop, experimenting with different things around his environment. If things don’t work out because, for example, they don’t live up to your expectations. You better admit defeat on time. You’re mistaken, it’s not such a big deal!
As yet, if you know with all your heart what to dedicate your life to, act and do not hesitate. Accept criticism and work on it. You will only get better. Simultaneously, adopt a favorable attitude towards people who are trying to support you. It is possible to find inspiration thanks to them.After all, don’t forget that the criticism you get to obtain is justa a person’s opinion. If you know you are behind something valuable, stay stable.
