“Put ’em up! How dare you! Who are you to criticize me?” If you are like me, it’s hard to take criticism. It feels negative and always seems to be a “put down” by someone who perhaps has no right to put down anyone else. Consider the source, says one pundit. It’s just their nature, and they do it to everyone about everything all the time.
Criticism can be a negative from someone who sees life differently, or it can be analysis and judgment of potential faults as seen by others. Regardless, it is negative.
Unless you learn to give constructive criticism or accept criticism in the light of this quote, you will always feel attacked by the moment.
“Don’t mind criticism:
If it’s untrue, disregard it;
if it’s ignorant, smile;
if justified, it’s not a criticism – learn from it!”
~Stephen Judd
It’s difficult accepting the negative from others. We see others with a critical eye and judge them according to how we see them. Often we hold ourselves up as better than others, and what’s worse, we think it’s our job to tell them what their problem is.
Through the years, I’ve learned to stay away from those with critical spirits—self-righteous judges of everyone else. Yet, there are better ways to deal with these attitudes. Abraham Lincoln says, “I don’t like that man. I must get to know him better.”
One scripture out of many you may seek comes from the wisest man, Solomon:
The ear that hears the rebukes of life
Will abide among the wise.
He who disdains instruction despises his own soul,
But he who heeds rebuke gets understanding.
The fear of the LORD is the instruction of wisdom,
And before honor is humility.
Proverbs 15:31-33 NKJV
There is one voice that speaks critically in my ear all the time. It’s me. I’m the producer of my own worse criticism. How do you deal with it? As for me, I’ve learned to turn it off or tune it out! Quit beating yourself up!
Perhaps the most significant thing I’ve learned when someone is constantly criticizing: They do not have a great self-image, and they feel better when they point out the faults of others.
Another Abraham Lincoln story surfaced, and I’ve not yet proved it to be factual, but when some men brought him a list of grievances and complaints against another man, he asked if this list was his. Yes. I can do with it what I want? Yes. So he tossed it in the fireplace, and it burned up.
Lesson for me? Don’t accept criticism about others from anyone. There are not enough hours in life to deal with the negative. We’ve got a lot of positives to make!
Dealing With Criticism: I've learned to stay away from those with critical spirits through the years—self-righteous judges of everyone else. Yet, there are better ways to deal with these attitudes. Abraham Lincoln is quoted as saying,… Click To Tweet