There is one unpleasant certainty in life criticism. No one escapes it entirely. And often our careers, our emotional stability, our happiness depend on how we react to it. There are really two kinds of criticism – the gentle, tactful, constructive variety and the blunt, harsh and hostile kind.
Controlling our emotional reaction is the hardest. Criticism is a direct attack on your self-respect. So it is all easy to react with resentment and anger. But this just makes you weaker, you are only poisoning yourself.
The first step, then, is to force yourself to be dispassionate. This is never easy, but it can be done. Another way to steady your emotions under attack is to reflect that strong men and women have always been criticised. If your life has any vitality at all, if you are determined to get things done, you will be able to encounter hostility and opposition.
The second step in coping with criticism is to be rational. Examine the criticism objectively. Ask yourself honestly if there is any truth in the criticism. If you are forced to the conclusion that whatever your critic is saying is true, the best thing to do is to admit it. This will silence him.
If you agree with him what more can he say? Another rational approach is to examine the qualification of your critic. Is he reputable and sincere? If so, you had better not dismiss his words readily. Is he spiteful or jealous? Then perhaps you can dismiss them.
Dignified silence is often the best reply to slander. Sometimes if the criticism is false and damaging, you must reply to it. But it is best simply to state the facts, not to try to take revenge. Your best defence is your own day to day conduct. It is keeping your moral standards high. It is having a clear conscience and living a life without any necessity for deception or lies or for concealment.
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