Accepting Criticism Gracefully

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Criticism is part of everyday living. We give it, we get it, and in order to be effective and successful in any chosen career, we need to learn to deal with it effectively. With a bit of honest self-evaluation, and a few simple changes in thought process, criticism can become a welcome friend rather than a dreaded enemy!

Grow thicker skin. If you constantly take criticism, disagreements, and even lighthearted, innocent jokes as personal, malicious attacks, eventually you won't even be able to communicate with your lawn mower, let alone your landlord without suffering a nervous breakdown or bursting in to tears. This is especially vital within a working environment. When your superiors offer you advice or direction about errors or need for change, allowing your handle to fly off in their general direction is not going to bode well for you.

Patience is a virtue for a reason. Patience allows us to prevent experiencing 20/20 hindsight. Patience gives your blood a chance to stop boiling, and your brain a chance to wrap itself around the real meaning of the message received.

Honesty, and the ability to evaluate your own behaviors, characteristics and performance are all essential in accepting criticism gracefully. Every single human being makes mistakes. It's what you do with those mistakes that counts more than being called on them. Do you learn from them? Do you attempt to make changes in your work processes or in your attitude? Or, are you stuck on blaming everyone else for everything that goes wrong? Mistakes exist as teaching tools. Learn from them. Listen to your evaluations and criticisms. Educate yourself. Take your performance to the next level. Rather than wallowing in self pity, put the advice and information to work, and create improvements.

Accepting criticism gracefully means exercising full control of your temper. It means not lashing out and attacking the person giving you feedback or criticism. Accepting criticism means having the ability to openly receive feedback in a gracious manner, hear it out, mull it over, learn from it, and either vocally or internally being grateful for the chance to conquer your weaknesses and improve upon your strengths.

Some things to remember about accepting criticism:

· Often, employers are judging employees based upon their ability to accept feedback and criticism. The reaction to something less than pleasurable is a meter by which your employer can gauge future performance and accomplishments.

· Be receptive, in person, through body language. Don't clench your fists, grit your teeth, or look as though you're about to have a root canal. Breathe and listen. Ask questions for clarification. Display your willingness to improve.

· The moment you stop learning, you're dead.

· If you display irrational and unreceptive behavior to colleagues, and throw tantrums over minor issues, you may get noticed, however, that attention will more than likely not be positive.

· Be able to separate emotions from business, especially when it comes to reviews and criticism. Displaying anger or irritability demonstrates a lack of maturity that will hold you back.

Learning more about your personality and temperment can help you to improve your skills in the workplace, and develop a more rational approach to success. Check out sites that offer personality testing, such as Personality Pathways . Read up on communication skills, as well, and learn new ways of taking and giving feedback. Most importantly, keep an open mind, try new approaches, and never stop trying to improve!