Norman Vincent Peale once said; “The trouble with most of us is that we would rather be ruined by praise than saved by criticism”.
Almost all the time, we believe that each criticism we get is meant to destroy us. On the contrary, criticism is meant to build us, and make us better individuals.
It is wonderful when we accept criticism with love. Perhaps a customer gave you negative feedback about your business and you feel bad about it. You don’t have to feel so bad about it. In fact, you have to love it because it will make you as an individual and as a company better. But how can we love and appreciate criticism, especially when it comes unexpectedly? How can we bring creativity out of criticism? Let’s provide some answers to these questions.
How to love criticism
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Don’t take criticism personally
The mistake which most people make is that they take criticism personally. The critic has only criticized your work and not your personality. You should realize on time that there is a clear difference between your personality and your work. When a person criticizes your work, don’t ever direct the criticism to your personality and assume that the person intends to hurt you. Instead, tap into the criticism and improve your skills.
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Don’t be defensive
Nobody wants to appear stupid or dull. Consequently, they often defend their work and protect it from all forms of criticism. Many people prefer to argue than to simply accept criticism and learn from it. If you also join the team of ‘defenders’, you will end up making a fool of yourself. You should realize that nobody is perfect. It is possible that someone else is seeing a fault in your work. The best thing you can do here is to accept it and make amendments.
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Listen to criticism skillfully and with a positive mind
You can never appreciate criticism if you nurse bias in your mind and the only thing you see is the negative side of what the critic is saying. It’s a fact that the state of your mind will control what you think you hear. It’s very easy for someone to say one thing while you interpret it completely in a different way.
Hearing is not the same as listening. Sometimes the right listening skill is all you need and you will realize that the critic is only trying to point out something and doesn’t mean to hurt you. There are many reasons why you need good listening skills, one of which is that; it keeps your mind in the best state you need for getting the right message.
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Ask questions to get things clearer
Your coworker or customer may say your work looks bad. If you consider this remark carefully, you will see that he or she is yet to tell you why it’s bad. Instead of becoming defensive and unnecessarily angry, why not humbly ask they why they think the work is bad? Ask him or her to point out the parts you should improve on. Ask questions, but be careful with how you present your questions.
Don’t make your questions sound like a form of challenge. Learn how to ask the right questions in the right way, if it’s not something you are familiar with. I’m sure the critic will be willing to point out flaws in your work. This is one of the ways through which you can learn from criticism and make yourself love it more.
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Say thank you to your critics
It’s very important that you say thank you to anyone who criticizes your work. Someone who has criticized your work needs appreciation. A simple mention of thank you shows appreciation. A team leader at Grade Miners advises that; “Saying thank you to your critic will not only portray a good image about your company, it’ll also pave the way for your subsequent works”. Therefore, every comment about your work or company deserves a ‘thank you’, regardless of whether the comment is encouraging or otherwise.
How to convert criticism to creativity
It’s wonderful when you start to love criticism, but you can go beyond merely loving it. Do you know that you can become more creative and productive by simply handling criticism with the right strategies? Let’s teach you how you can do this.
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Let criticism fuel your creativity
As a company, every negative feedback will drive you to bring out more creativity in your team. Allow criticism to fuel your creativity and productivity. Positive comments could make you feel relaxed. You need to know how others feel about your work.
If all the comments you get are positive, you won’t know where to improve in your service delivery. In situations where people criticize your work, you’ll know where to strengthen and make your output better. The aim is to improve on any criticized aspect of your work.
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Learn more skills from every criticism
Criticism is a better motivator than praise. It can drive you to learn more and do more. There are records of people who have achieved more in life, simply because they were criticized and they wanted to prove to the critics that they possess all it takes to succeed. You can also use criticism as a motivator to become more creative. Let each of the Criticism you get motivate you to acquire more skills and not make you feel like a failure.
Conclusion
Choose to love criticism rather than hate it. There are several ways through which it can make you and your company better. Choose to love it today and watch as your company becomes more productive.
About the author:
Justin is a teacher from Leicester, England, UK. When not teaching his little students and rooting for Leicester FC, he loves to share his thoughts and opinions about education, writing and blogging with other people on different blogs and forums. Follow Justin on Facebook or tweet him @JustinJOsborne.
