Do you know you can use criticism for personal growth? Once you recognize you can use constructive criticism as a personal growth opportunity, rather than taking it personally, you can use the feedback to your advantage. Once you realize that criticism is essential for growth, your critiques will only lead you to more tremendous success. In this article and the video by Brian Tracy, you can learn how to use criticism for personal growth.
Use Criticism For Personal Growth
It’s never pleasant to receive criticism and it can be tough to not let a negative comment that could ruin your entire day. While you may be tempted to brush these comments off or avoid feedback altogether, doing so doesn’t give you the ability to learn from past mistakes. However harsh it may be, constructive criticism presents an opportunity to help you to grow and improve. Your personal and professional success depends on your being able to take criticism in stride. Knowing how to handle constructive criticism even when it’s negative improves relationships, performance and negotiating abilities. Once you recognize that constructive criticism can be used as a professional and personal growth opportunity rather than taking it personally, you can use the feedback to your advantage. Here sharing a few tips on how to use criticism for personal growth.
How To Use Criticism For Personal Growth?
1. Don’t let criticism affect your emotions
- Don’t take criticism as a personal attack.
- A strong emotional response will make it harder to learn from your mistakes.
- Take a minute to control your reaction.
The first tip is to not let it affect your emotions. While you may disagree with the criticism you receive don’t consider it as a personal attack on your character. It’s important to keep your emotions in check. If you have a strong emotional response to criticism, you will find it difficult to see beyond the insult. These strong negative emotions will make it much harder to problem-solve the situation and learn from your mistakes. When receiving criticism take a minute to breathe in and breathe out and to control your reaction. You can actually retrain your brain to interpret criticism as a stepping stone to growth rather than just a harmful insult.
2. If You Need More Clarity, Just Ask
- If a colleague doesn’t fully explain their criticism, it is appropriate to enquire further.
- Realising feedback could be an opportunity for growth.
Another tip to share with you is that if you need more clarity on the feedback, just ask. If your colleague says that you’re doing something wrong but won’t elaborate on the correct way to handle it, it’s appropriate to inquire further rather than getting upset and walking away from the situation. Realize their feedback could be an opportunity for growth and ask them to elaborate. This way you can have an open dialogue with that person that helps them feel comfortable communicating with you and helps you grow from their feedback. Once you know what you’re doing wrong, you can figure out ways to fix it rather than getting upset or brushing it off. You may even be able to go back to that person later to ask for help or advice. Though criticism can feel pointed and unjustness and painful, you won’t be able to learn from it if you don’t take accountability which brings us.
3. Avoid Getting Defensive
- Take ownership of your part of the problem.
The third tip is to take a deeper look at the problem and avoid making blaming statements or accusations or excuses. While it’s easy to get defensive when someone gives you negative feedback, it is much more productive to cut the excuses and take ownership of your part of the problem. Taking accountability allows you to focus on how you can learn from the situation and what steps you need to take next time to change the outcome.
4. Consider It A Learning Experience
- Finding your weaknesses will ultimately aid you in your personal development.
- Track criticism in a journal.
- Check in on your improvements regularly.
The last piece of advice is to consider criticism a learning experience an area in which you could improve that will ultimately help you to personally develop. The best way to track this growth is by jotting down the critiques you receive and evaluating them. When you receive feedback, write it down similar to a yearly review evaluation. This is the perfect time to focus on yourself and your personal development. Let those critiques help you create a strategy for how you will improve in the long run. Check in with yourself regularly and consider the areas where you have improved and where you can do a little bit more work.
For example, if you’ve been told that it takes you too long to submit your deliverables, rather than getting upset about the feedback, use it as motivation. Next time you have something to submit make an effort to get it done in an efficient and timely manner. Then come back to your self-evaluation and mark your progress. Allow yourself time and you will see how much more you have improved and grown. Once you realize that criticism is essential for growth your critiques will only lead you to greater success.
As Eric Yuan CEO of Zoom said “The harshest criticism may be the best words you ever hear.“
How To Use Criticism For Personal Growth – Brian Tracy
Read Brian Tracy’s Success Rules And Success Story
Here are a few extra tips to increase daily manifestations
- Practice gratitude every morning. When you wake up, list everything that you are grateful for and feel that gratitude in your core. 3 Simple Morning Routines Will Change Your Life Forever. Learn and follow good morning routines that will transform your life.
- Replace your negative thoughts with positive thoughts. Every time you feel a negative thought coming on, make a positive spin on it right away. Learn and follow simple self-improvement tips to break negative patterns and bad habits.
- Avoid negative self-talk because positive self-talk can make your day bright and negative self-talk can make it stressful.
- Take ownership of things that happen in your life. It’s easy to blame others however you will feel much better when you realize that most issues stem from you.
- Never stop believing in yourself. Always believe that good things are about to happen. By being open to new possibilities you are inviting abundance into your life.
- Remember that like attracts like so you get back whatever you put out, whether it is good or bad. So do good to receive good.
- Meditate for five minutes a day. During this time focus on how you want your life to be, but place your focus on how you feel and feel that feeling as if you have already accomplished those goals.
- Step outside of your comfort zone. Stop playing it safe and make that decision to finally go for your dreams.
- Focus on activities that make you feel truly happy. When you are truly happy you have the best vibrational frequency to manifest your desires. There are simple ways to increase daily manifestations.
- Never keep bad friends. Surround yourself with good friends who only lift you higher. Don’t let negative friends drag you down the success ladder.
- Realise the power of dreaming big and don’t be afraid to dream big because you are always supported by the universe.
Final Thoughts
Do not mind criticism, because when you reach your goal, the same people who criticised you will come back to applaud you. It’s not pleasant to receive criticism. But after reading the above and watching this video you may not consider criticism a personal attack. When you get criticism, take the time to breathe in and breathe out to make your mind calm. Then you can look into a part of the good in it for your personal development.
Are you using criticism for personal growth?
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References: Brian Tracy
Mathukutty P. V. is the founder of Simply Life Tips. He is a Blogger, Content Writer, Influencer, and YouTuber. He is passionate about learning new skills. He is the Director of PokketCFO.
He lives with the notion of “SIMPLE LIVING, CREATIVE THINKING”. He Believes – “Sharing is caring.” and “Learning never ends.”
