We all hate to be criticised. At some point, we will face criticism – be it at work, in school or even by close family members.

If you are a critical person, chances are you are very hard on yourself and criticise yourself a lot. Being overly-critical does not make us an intelligent person – ironically, it makes us seem uptight and petty. Sooner or later, people will stop hanging out with us because critical people are just not fun to be with.

On the flipside, when we get criticism, we all react differently – some of us will counter attack, some of us will be defensive, whereas the open-minded ones will reflect.

How should we handle criticism in school or at work such that it serves us?

1. Be calm and open

Do not shoot your critic immediately. Be open minded and see whether there is any truth in that criticism.

This is a humbling act. But it expands our minds and if the criticism is true, we can use this opportunity to improve ourselves. It also makes us more aware of our flaws, if the criticism is indeed true.

If you feel angry and upset by the criticism, take about 30 minutes to calm down first before replying or you might say something you regret.

2. Decide if the criticism is fair or unfair

If your critic has your best interest at heart, you can listen to him. If your critic is giving you useless feedback based on his envy, insecurity or lack of knowledge, you can take his criticism with a pinch of salt. It’s just another form of bullying.

3. Get help if needed

Harsh criticism, name-calling, insults, put-downs are a form of bullying and emotional abuse.

Be aware that someone who is constantly bullying other people is someone who was likely to be bullied in the past. A person like this is insecure and gets the feeling of power and superiority by attacking someone whom he sees as quieter, milder or ‘weaker’.

It’s not easy to run away from him if you see him everyday at school or work. Thus, get the help from relevant people if you need to.

In conclusion…

It’s safe to say that some people are critical by nature and nobody and nothing will ever make them happy.

They will always find some nitty-gritty detail to pick on. These people are probably very critical of themselves as well and constantly bullying their own selves inside.

Hopefully we can all accept that making mistakes is part of learning, it’s part of life and be easy on ourselves and be easy on other people as well.

Have a good week.