Criticism Makes Us Remarkable

 “We’ve been raised with a false belief:  We mistakenly believe that criticism leads to failure.  From the time we get to school, we’re taught that being noticed is almost always bad.  It gets us sent to the principal’s office, not to Harvard.”

“Nobody says, “Yeah, I’d like to set myself up for some serious criticism!”And yet…the only way to be remarkable is to do just that.”

-          Seth Godin Purple Cow

Constructive criticism leads to growth – that part’s easy.  It’s also important when we receive criticism that may not feel constructive to not personalize it and to grow from it.  Learning takes many forms.  Criticism provides many opportunities – be strong, learn and grow from the feedback that the world is giving you.

Maureen Simon

Comments

[Janina Browarska]

Hi Maureen,

Yes constructive criticism is easy, but the other kind is very tough to swallow....another lesson on my journey...thank you for putting "criticism" in the light of personal growth and universal feedback....

Take care
Nina

[maureen simon]

Thanks for the comment Nina!
There really is a difference between constructive criticism and destructive criticism...
I also do believe that we can teach and raise awareness on this difference by speaking up and letting people know how we would prefer to be spoken to and how we learn best. They way we word this feed back is important--and when we get our message clear with sensitivity we can really teach and raise peoples awareness.
Good Luck!
Maureen

[Hayli @ RiseSmart]

Curious Cat had an interesting post on this recently, stating that while constructive criticism is best, shooting down a bad idea is better than letting it pass for fear of offending anyone. In organizations, there are plenty of blunt, thoughtless people. It's up to us to control our reaction, ask probing questions to clarify their criticism, and try to spin it into a solution-oriented discussion. Bonus: All the while, we're honing a key leadership skill.