Receiving Constructive Criticism Is A Gift

It doesn’t seem like it some days, but receiving constructive criticism from others is a gift. Now, let me clarify this right from the start –there’s a difference between being unjustly criticized and constructive criticism.

Constructive criticism helps us grow into a better person. If a friend feels comfortable enough to give you negative feedback, they aren’t doing it to be petty and pick on you. They truly want to help you grow.

Unfortunately, people often see any kind of negative response or disagreement as being picked on. They feel personally attacked if you don’t agree completely with what they say or do.

People with a history of being emotionally abused often fall into this category. Their abuser trained them to think that they were not good enough for anything. So they learned to take any criticism as a sign of unworthiness.

However, constructive criticism gives us a chance to learn about ourselves and our relationships with other people. We can’t change what we don’t know. Enemies will never tell you anything constructive because they want to hate you.

Friends, however, have a good reason to help you change. They love you and want to see you be the best person you can be. It will grow your relationship together.

These days everyone seems to want to find fault with others. I’m not sure if it is caused by fragile self-esteem issues, or if they just like to try to feel superior to someone else. It’s hard to distinguish sometimes between constructive criticism and someone finding fault just to be mean.

The way we receive it can make all the difference in the world. If we refuse to let someone else get under our skin, if we are open to the possibility that their words may be true and we have room to change, we can become better people. But, if we immediately raise our guards and grab the nearest weapon, all we do is cause stress to ourselves and give a potential attacker satisfaction in knowing they succeeded in hurting you.

If someone criticizes you, consider the source. Are they friend, enemy, or even a stranger? A friend may be trying to help you. If it’s not a friend, do you really care what they think about you? You shouldn’t. The only one who has to look in your mirror is you. If you are happy with that face, that’s all that matters.