How you respond to criticism is an important life skill, and one that can save you a lot of grief. This Lifehack article has some excellent tips to help you deal with a critique in a healthy way.
Some of my favorites are:
1. Respond to the suggestions, not the tone of the criticism. There may be some wise advice hidden under a not-so-friendly voice.
2. Don’t take it personally. Instead of feeling like YOU are being criticized, stick to the issue at hand. It is the issue that’s being criticized, not you.
3. Don’t respond immediately. This way you avoid saying something impulsive that you may later regret. Wait until you’re calm to respond.
4. Value criticism. Criticism can help you to grow and move forward if you’re open to learning from it.
5. Smile. Even if you don’t feel like smiling after being criticized, doing so will make you feel better, and will probably prompt your criticizer to be more friendly as well.
Of course, when you put yourself into the public’s eye like I have, you are very open to criticism. When someone criticizes me, and particularly my beliefs about health and nutrition, I do try to look for the “value” in it, but I will also respond to the critique using facts to back me up if I feel it was not accurate.
I also like to refer to the stages of truth I have posted on my home page:
1. First it is ridiculed (i.e. criticized)
2. Then it is violently opposed
3. Finally, it is accepted as self-evident
If you look at it this way, then every criticism is actually the first step toward acceptance.
Lifehack.org September 4, 2007