On taking criticism – or not…

“You can’t take criticism, can you?!”

How are you supposed to answer that?!

I guess I can’t. I can’t answer the question and I don’t handle criticism well. Not the mean kind and often not the wellmeaning.

I think it’s like the saying:

“It’s not what they say, or even what they do. It’s how they make you feel.”

If you have criticism, and have to share it with me, try and share it without making me feel bad – that way we’ll both get something out of the conversation.

Thanks 🙂

0 thoughts on “On taking criticism – or not…

  1. That’s the best way to give criticism but sadly it’s a) not always done this way or b) taken the wrong way even when the giver of the criticism tried to say it the right way. Me, I’m really bad at taking criticism no matter how it’s given ?

  2. Getting criticisms, harsh or otherwise, is not fun to the person on the receiving end. When I feel it is necessary to give a critical statement, mostly to one of my children, I have to think hard and long on the words I will use. My husband, Joe, has made me think long and hard about my word choices. Just from his funny analogy of a woman’s face and a clock. Joe says “You can make a woman feel beautiful or stone ugly simply by your choice of words.” He goes on to say “Sweet heart looking at you “Time stands still” or it can be said “Sweet heart your face can stop a clock”.

    I just wish that internet people would take a few minutes to think about what they write when leaving a critical response.

    Thank you for stopping by my blog and leaving your comment. From your query, it seems I need to write a post about why I have been missing in action for so long. Thank you for nudging me.

    Leslie

      1. No, I don’t get much nasty criticism from internet people. Then again, my blogs have not reached a popularity scale of more than 150 “Likes” or comments over a period of 5 years. Several of my YouTube videos, however, have had a good share of snarky and snide comments.

        Leslie

  3. I always remember being told “You’re sooo sensitive!” growing up when I would get upset about something someone (usually a family member) said. I have come to accept that this is who I am. Yes, it’s good to have thick skin and let things roll off your shoulders (all the cliches), but there is a plus side to being sensitive: you’re more open to the world. Maybe writers and artists share this characteristic. I wouldn’t trade my deeper appreciation of beauty for anything!
    Thank you for liking Clump A Day … you lifted my spirits!

    1. Urgh. “You’re so sensitive” is an *awful* phrase. Most of the time, it’s being used as a way for the other person to avoid dealing with the fact that, actually, they were being tactless/unpleasant. Blaming it on you for being ‘too sensitive’ is great for them because they can avoid having to take responsibility for their own tactlessness or actually, y’know, change their behaviour. And so they say a further hurtful thing to you to get out of doing the decent thing themselves.

      Letting things roll off your shoulders is no doubt good for *them*, because it absolves them of any responsibility to be kind rather than critical to their loved ones in the first place. But, no, it’s not ‘too sensitive’ to be bothered when someone (especially someone in your own family) says something hurtful. It’s normal, and they’re in the wrong.

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