It’s rare to find anyone who can embrace criticism with ease. Those who criticise you may be trying to undermine you or not, but regardless of their intentions, you can use criticism to your advantage.

But.

You have to go in hard to figure it out.

You don’t need to let criticism diminish you. If you need to let it diminish you, then ask yourself, why? How does it serve you? Why does it suit you to be diminished? What advantage do you gain from it?

Maybe it maintains the status quo so you don’t need to do anymore than necessary. Maybe it generates attention or sympathy from others. Maybe, if you were not diminished, it might upset the power dynamics in a relationship with a colleague, friend or family member, and as a result, you would need to leave the situation.

If your reasons for being diminished are valid or not, is it worth paying for it with your self esteem?

When you’re ready to stop feeling diminished, then you’re ready to change your response to criticism.

You don’t need to ignore criticism. I’m not just talking about external criticism. This applies to self criticism too.

It takes too much energy trying to ignore external and internal criticism. Your energy is better spent on using it as fertiliser for your personal growth.

Have you got what it takes?