Use Empathy to Learn From Your Critics (And Make Them Go Away)

Criticism can be tough to handle. Instead of fueling the fire with an argument, focus on learning from your critics and using empathy to take the edge off of a critique.

It's easy to be defensive when someone criticizes you, but David Cain at Raptitude recommends using empathy to learn something from their criticism while simultaneously throwing the critic off. By not giving in to the fight, the situation will quickly dissolve. David explains how to do it:

In all cases, we are in a much better position to learn from criticism (and minimize its sting) when we think of it as something that is happening in someone else's head. If we're not caught in the throes of a defensive reaction, then we can make use of our most potent tool for responding to criticism, which is empathy.

By default, your attention goes to the relationship between the criticism you see, and how you feel. See if you can use that initial sting to remind you of what the criticism really is: an internal relationship between what the critic sees and the feeling it gives him.

So whenever you meet criticism, think of it as a learning experience and use empathy to make the critic go away.

The Best Response to Criticism | Raptitude

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