Some people believe that being able to wholeheartedly accept another person’s opinion about your work, with complete and utter grace, is a superpower. In being so emotionally attached and invested into your personal projects, it can sometimes hurt your ego if another person says that your work would be much better if you just made some slight changes to it. Not being able to accept constructive criticism has the potential to impair relationships within your personal and professional life. Having the capability to better listen and understand constructive criticism is something that most of us need to improve on.
Are you someone who sucks at accepting criticism from others? Here are a few tips you can put into practice so that you can become a pro at accepting constructive feedback.
Listen Intently to the Feedback Being Given
Whenever it’s time to take in some feedback, being able to be completely present while listening to the opinion of others, helps ensure that you fully understand their perspective. While it may seem like a difficult task to clear your personal thoughts, as you listen to what others have to say about your work, it’ll definitely make it easier for you comprehend their advice. Think about the last time you asked someone else for their feedback. Were you actually listening to what they had to say, or was there a voice in your head that was already coming up with rebuttals to their comments? The next time you’re taking in some feedback, have a deep breath, and allow the feedback to be an opportunity for you practice your listening and comprehension skills.
Take It as an Opportunity
Not everyone gets the opportunity to share their projects in a space where they’ll receive feedback. Especially if you are sharing your work with others who are deemed experts within their field, it’s worth embracing the advice they share with you. Be thankful that you have had the chance to receive constructive guidance that may actualise into something valuable for you in the future. Instead of taking criticism and feedback as personal attacks to your work and self worth, embrace feedback as an opportunity to build upon your knowledge and skills for projects in the future.
Separate Your Work from Your Self Worth
As previously mentioned, many of us have a negative relationship to accepting constructive criticism because we may take it as a personal attack. Separating our self worth (and our identity), from what we work on, can help us to better welcome constructive criticism and feedback. Once you realise that your projects do not define who you are, you’ll see that you will be more open to listening to what others have to say.
In being able to put into practice the above points, you will find that not only will your capacity to accept criticism will improve, but so too will your relationships.
