5 Ways to Deal With Criticism Effectively

Sep 12, 2018 by apost team

It is important we all learn how to handle criticism. If you let it have power over you, criticism can keep you from realizing many things. Your journey and everyone's journey in this world will involve experiencing criticism, it is how you handle it that will make the difference in your life.

Your Journey

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It is not possible for everyone to understand your journey and where it is taking you. This is fine because it is your journey and unique to you. Feel the freedom it provides you. Realize the real reason you are in this world is not to please others.

Living life involves getting in touch with the person you are inside and going where your desires and passions take you. You will be unhappy in your life if you do what makes other people happy to avoid their criticism and judgment. This lack of happiness can cause you to experience depression. It is a strong indication that you are avoiding what your soul wants you to do. When this happens, you will not know your true self. When this happens, the potential that resides within in you will be limited. People with good intentions will often offer you their advice. Most of them, including close loved ones, won't understand your individual journey. You are the only person who knows what is best for yourself. It is always good to be able to handle criticism. Here are 5 ways you can handle it.

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1. Remain True To Yourself

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Some consider this to be the most important tip. Never let the inability of other individuals to accept or understand your journey be important to you. When you are true to yourself and who you are, life becomes very special. Doors open and provide an opportunity when you never thought it possible. There is never a shortage of solutions and life is exciting and enjoyable. People who decide to live their life to suit what others want from them are putting a limitation on their birthright of free will. Your life is not intended to be lived by others. It is yours and you can choose to make it special.

2. Calm Yourself

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When you're criticized, you should take a deep breath and calm yourself. It is easy to feel attacked and slip into fight or flight mode. Deep breaths enable you to take in more oxygen and lower your heart rate. It can cause you to be calmer. Don't react immediately and become defensive even if you are feeling threatened. This results in your body experiencing unnecessary stress. This is when you should remember the individual doing the attacking does not know your life or that you are doing just fine. If there is any truth to what they say, just think about it later. If the criticism could be an insult, don't respond. You may regret reacting to it.

3. Toughen Up

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It is important to work hard and develop a tolerance to criticism. Most people are a critic because it's easy. Living your own life and being true to yourself will take courage and strength. Being tough is important because you will experience critics your entire life. The good thing is the less you give critics attention, the less you will experience their criticism. When you reach a point where you have the confidence to know who you are and the reason you're here, you can't be stopped.

4. It's Not Personal

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When a person criticizes you, it has more to do with them than you. Should someone be offensive, it is often because they feel bad about their abilities and themselves. Their criticism is based on their feelings. If you don't respect the person, try to realize it's not personal. It’s important to try and quickly forget about it.

5. Seek Truth

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It is possible for everything to have a bit of truth to it. A statement could seem critical but may really be a loving reminder. It's possible we are offended by the truth and our ego goes into overdrive. Try being open-minded when you hear something. There is no requirement for you to act on it or believe it. You should attempt to find out if it can show you something you need to understand. Sometimes growing requires we look at true things others are trying to help us to see.

If you or anyone you know could benefit from this information be sure to provide it for them. You could also think about what you have read and share your perceptions of it. This could be the basis for some beneficial conversations.