Author: Amy Myer

There is all kinds of criticism and no doubt we have already run into all forms of it. It can come in a polite constructive manner, it can be harsh or sometimes just outright rude. However, it is the way in which you decide to use the criticism that is how it’s going to actually affect you. Any kind of criticism can be used to help better your career or even build your self-esteem, but the only way that will happen is if you don’t let yourself get bogged down by the negative parts of criticism.

If someone is giving you what appears to be constructive criticism, it’s important to literally take note of what they are saying by either actually writing it down or at least making a mental note of what they have to offer you. This doesn’t matter whether it’s at work or it has something to do with your personal life, always listen to what they are saying and try to absorb it.

Make sure that you accept the criticism on the actual level that it is being given to you. If the person who is giving you the criticism is giving it to you in a very helpful and respectful manner then it should be easily accepted. However, if the person is harsh and they might be criticizing you just because of emotional reasons or even jealousy it’s going to be a lot harder to listen to.

You can though take hurtful criticism and make it into something that could be good. You are the only one that can actually decide how you will let what other people say affect you. You shouldn’t get angry, even if it feels like hurtful criticism. Don’t get hurt or depressed over it, instead try to let those words energize you, get you motivated. Whatever you do, don’t let what someone said to you shake or lower your self-esteem or even paralyze you. You need to first figure out if it is valid criticism and if it is take the helpful info from it and then just throw away any of the emotional pieces of it.

Make sure to write down a list of all the most recent criticism you have gotten. You should also write down just how you felt when you received each piece of criticism. Take into consideration the way in which you received it and how it affected you and things in your life, if it did. You should also think of different ways in which you should have handled the criticism if you didn’t at first handle it with grace.

Take the criticism and let it inform you and the view of yourself in a positive manner. Most criticism is nothing but a series of different suggestions. You can choose to follow these suggestions that you think will help you be the person you feel that you want to be.

It’s important to be sure of yourself but at the same time you need to remain humble and sometimes that is a difficult thing to balance but sometimes the criticism that you receive might be able to help you find that delicate balance. So it’s important that you do your best to listen to everything and then figure out later if the information that you received is going to be useful for you and your life.

Criticism should be seen as an opportunity for you to be able to take time out and evaluate yourself and figure out where you might be able to improve. All criticism is an open door for you and if you use it wisely you will be better off for it.

You should also try and see if the criticism is based on facts about you or if someone is just simply feeling insecure about themselves. By doing this it will be a lot easier for you to recognize the negative and this will allow you to ignore it and will help you to focus more of your energy on the criticism that could help you.

Article Source: http://www.articlesbase.com/coaching-articles/self-help-tips-how-to-train-yourself-to-better-handle-criticism-4833795.html

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