Don’t be afraid of being criticized

“Criticism is something we can avoid easily by saying nothing, doing nothing, and being nothing.” Aristotle (Greek philosopher and polymath 384 BC–322 BC)

Criticism has a negative perception for most of us. When we come under criticism, we usually take it personally and try to defend ourselves. We feel like the person who criticizes, don’t accept us as we are and correspondingly we become angry. Even to be criticized about an ordinary subject can make us feel rejected. In other words, when you look at the fear of criticism from a broader perspective, it may be thought of as a sub-form of the fear of rejection.

I can say that as a Turkish person, we don’t like being criticized as a nation. And I think many people around the world have a similar attitude. Naturally, people don’t generally want feedbacks because of the possibility of criticism. However, if we abstain from criticism and receiving feedback, we condemn ourselves to a very limited developmental field and miss the chance to make objective assessments.

In fact, criticism can be made positively. So, we can divide criticism into two parts, positive and negative. Even though the constructive one is appreciated, negative criticism and rejection will always be among the realities of our lives. It would be wise not to personalize them and not to behave emotionally, but to analyze whether or not they will create an opportunity to develop ourselves. It is obvious that it is not realistic to expect that everything we do will be appreciated and approved by everyone. No matter how hard we try, there will always be someone who doesn’t like what we do.

If we refrain from being criticized, we’ll have no opportunity to improve ourselves. Let’s say you had a creative idea and you couldn’t share it at the company meetings because of your fear of being criticized. Well, what if your move caused you to miss a promotion opportunity? Perhaps if you could share your idea, they would like it and would want you to develop a project after. What would be the worst outcome, if you decided to share? Someone might say, “how stupid idea it is?” or maybe they wouldn’t take it at all. When comparing the positive and negative results, it is evident that this fear is unnecessary and in most of the cases can cause to lose an opportunity.

My suggestion is to be brave about being criticized and even embrace criticism. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not saying to accept the criticism as it is. Embrace the criticism, but pay attention to where it comes from. Before taking into consideration, it will be wise to make sure that the people who give you feedbacks are successful in their lives, that they are knowledgeable about what they are talking about, and that they are individuals who have gained respect with their intelligence.

Remember, some people criticize only for the sake of criticizing. Don’t mind this group of people too much. Some people are just ignorant and speak without knowing their ignorance. Get away from this group of people. Therefore, make sure they are worthy of your attention before taking any comment into consideration. If you decide that criticism is worth an assessment, consider these feedbacks deeply. These valuable feedbacks are constructive and may prevent you from mistakes, and also you can get creative ideas from them.

K.

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