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“Never react emotionally to criticism. Analyze yourself to determine whether it is justified. If it is, correct yourself. Otherwise, go on about your business.“
-–Dr. Norman Vincent Peale
In his best-selling book The Positive Principle Today, Dr. Peale shared many words of wisdom that can really help us through the low points of life, including the ones I quoted above.
It’s never fun when someone criticizes something we said or did, but there are times when criticism can actually be helpful if it’s given in a caring and positive way.
As humans we sometimes fall into the trap of saying or doing things that aren’t in our own best interest or are detrimental to others. Negativity that might not even be apparent to us might well be obvious to others.
Truth be told, criticism can be a force for good if:
a) it’s valid
b) it was given with the sincere intention of helping the recipient
Criticism is often given out of love and genuine concern, not animosity. How it is delivered is usually a huge clue about which of those it was.
It’s wise to never dismiss criticism out of hand. Instead, think about what was said. Was the person telling the truth and truly wanting to help or simply criticizing to be mean?
Either way, if the criticism is valid it might be to our advantage to pay heed to it. If it isn’t valid it’s probably best to simply ignore it and get on with our day. Regardless, we shouldn’t let it get us down and ruin our day. We should just analyze what was said and either make a course correction (if needed) or do nothing. It’s really that simple.
Norman Vincent Peale wrote a number of excellent books that have helped me tremendously over the years. I recommend that you take a few minutes to check them out.
To finish up, here’s a fantastic inspirational video that might be a help to you as well. I hope you enjoy it.