JH

How to Handle Criticism Like a Pro!

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by

peter2
in , ,
 
“What others menat for evil, God inteded for good.” – Genisis
 
I listened to a recent Podcast by Michael Hyatt the other day and was totally inspired. (BTW he is one of my FAVE productivity / leadership guru’s … check him out!)
 
The podcast episode was all about being easily offended.  You can take a listen yourself by clicking here.
 
Personally … I’ve been struggling lately with being too easily offended.
 
Someone will say something and I take it and obsess over it and twist it and morph it into something bigger than it needs to be. I get totally hijacked and start to lose focus. 
 
I get angry.
 
I get defensive.
 
I have self doubt.
 
And guess what all that is … my stupid EGO getting in the way.   And I’m only hurting myself!
 
As a leader you are going to get attention. You are going to get criticized.  You are going to be second guessed. You will draw fire. You will even be wrongly accused at times.
 
Bottom line.
 
So if you are going to be crticized in life … and that’s a guarantee … then the better question becomes … how are you going to handle it?
 
Here are some of my thoughts on criticism to help you take it with ease and react like a Pro:
  1. The more time you spend obsessing about what someone said, the less time you have to do something with it!
  2. Finding the truth in criticism encourages humility. It’s not easy to let go of the EGO and take a hard look at yourself and your weaknesses, but you can only grow if you’re willing to do this.
  3. Criticism opens your mind to perspectives / ideas you might not have considered before. Whenever someone challenges you, they actually help you by getting you to think different.
  4. You come up against a critic … this gives you the chance to practice forgiveness. Most of us carry around stress and frustration that we unintentionally misdirect from time to time – this is so destrucive to our mind, body and soul.  We must forgive and move on.
  5. The ability to sit with discomfort from an initial emotional reaction rather than lashing out and re-acting.  Reacting will typically backfire.  So honor the space between stimulius and response.  Make peace there and choose wisely.  This determines your destiny.
  6. Criticism is an opportunity to choose peace over conflict. Oftentimes, when criticized our instinct is to fight, creating drama. The people around us generally want to help us, not judge us.
  7. Criticism gives you an opportunity to challenge any people-pleasing tendencies.  Always looking for approval can be draining for everyone involved. It’s liberating to let people think whatever they want, because guess what … they’re going to do it anyway.
  8. Criticism gives you the chance to teach people how to treat you.  If someone has a valid point but they are screaming it at you … acknowlede the feedback but challenge the delivery.  We must set boundaries. 
  9. Handling criticism well helps you fight he need to be right. Nothing closes an open mind like EGO … bad for your personal brand, your relationships and your growth. 
  10. Receiving feedback will remind you it’s okay to have flaws.   Perfect is boring and a little scary.   If you can admit weakness and work on it without beating yourself up (and the person giving the feedback) … you’ll experience far more happiness, peace, and success in this life.
 
How do you handle criticism in your life?
 
Know someone who could benefit from this blog post … pass it on using the social share links below!
 
I’d love to work with you!  Click here to contact me.
 
HOLLA! Back,
Judi

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