It is everyone’s dream to succeed, either on the Internet, or in day to day living. You come across Blue Moon Opportunities, but you are too afraid to pick up the challenge, or you are ham-strung by what other people think. It’s time to think outside the ‘box’ and dare to be different. One of the great keys to success is to understand why you can’t accept criticism.

Feedback is the life blood of a thriving business and an ongoing development. Criticism however, is the proverbial axe to the tree. It cuts you off at the ankles. Criticism is like bread crumbs in the bed. You simply cannot ignore it, no matter what the source is, whether it is good or bad.

So how do you learn to take criticism, be it intentional, said in ignorance, or foolishly? How do you turn a negative into a positive (the key to all successful entrepreneurs)?

Here are 11 reasons why you can’t accept criticism:

1. The critic assumes the position that there is a universal standard, or method on which the criticism is based and the critic is the sole possessor of the ability to form that measurement
2. The critic makes you feel you are an idiot and therefore deserve to be ridiculed
3. The critic has the attitude of being superior and smarter than you
4. The critic wants you to believe that the criticism must be accepted
5. Criticism that is destructive points at you, rather than to the any short fall of your project, or performance
6. Destructive criticism is always one sided, looking only at the negatives
7. It informs you of everything the critic believes is wrong, because you don’t have the ability to see it yourself
8. The critic shreds your self-esteem, leaving you feeling inadequate, hopeless and plain stupid
9. Criticism can be delivered in a snide, sarcastic, snarky, mocking, cynical, thoughtless, mean, spiteful, flippant, arrogant, dismissive, jealous, curt, or annoyed manner
10. The critic’s motives are not always clear and shows no understanding of your aims and goals
11. The criticism will ‘put-you-in-your-place’ because you are getting ‘too-big-for-your-boots’

It is a normal reaction to attempt to first defend yourself, then to hit back, when you have been hurt. When someone throws a spear, it is a natural reaction to throw it back.

Is There Such A Thing As Constructive Criticism?

Now, let’s take a quick look at constructive criticism, but remember you need to have established a healthy relationship with the person offering the criticism:

1. A good critic spends more time telling you what is right, than what they believe is wrong with you, or your project, or performance. Rather like a sandwich with the negative as the filling
2. An effective critic will have a true understanding of the intent and purpose of what has been done and what your aims and goals are. They will look at it from your point-of-view
3. Good criticism is an act of respect and careful communication, looking at your project, or performance, not at you as a person
4. Good criticism is heavily laced with compassion, not arsenic and strychnine
5. Good criticism will show up any slapdash, or laxness in your performance, or weakness in your project
6. Constructive criticism will help you to make the absolute best of your next set of choices
7. Constructive criticism leaves you room to move with dignity, not slavishly follow what the critic has to say
8. Constructive criticism uplifts you mentally, morally, emotionally and spiritually.

Good feedback you can trust is almost impossible to find.

Here are some golden rules that will help you work your way through criticism.

1. Know that criticism is much harder to receive than it is to give it out.
2. Take time out to validate what angle the critic is coming from.
3. Give yourself time to assess if there are some grains of truth in the criticism. Usually there are.
4. Your first reaction will be illogical and if you instantly respond to the criticism, it becomes a negative on your part.
5. Don’t wander down the no-exit road of self pity. That’s a luxury you can’t afford and will gain you nothing.
6. Learn lessons from professional boxers. When you have been hurt, go to the ropes and regroup.
7. The danger is when you react to one kind of criticism, you lay yourself open to being vulnerable to another kind of criticism.

In the end, criticism is a Blue Moon Opportunity to take stock, improve where possible, then climb on to even greater heights. If you are succeeding, criticism WILL come your way. The successful entrepreneur takes time out to turn Negative criticism into a Positive.

Please add any other reasons as to why you feel you can’t accept criticism. It may help us all to come to a better understanding of ourselves and others.

You can find  out more about the author and a genuine Blue Moon Opportunity at http://winaresort.com

This ticket was posted on Sunday, October 5th, 2008 at 6:22 am and is filed under How To. You can follow any responses to this ticket through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

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