I think this sucks.

Criticism Poster Kid- Simon Cowell

I can't imagine the first thing you thought when you read the title of this post. Don't worry, this isn't a ranting post. This post is about criticism- giving and receiving it. However, before we go down that road, I must apologize for not giving you juicy 20something gist these past few days. I believe I'm back and better. I won't give excuses, I'll just say that its better for blog posts to be short than for them to be non-existent right?

Anyways, back to the meat of the matter. Have you ever honestly asked if you deal well with criticism? What is the best way to deal with it? Are you meant to look or feel remorseful, are you meant to explain yourself, or are you meant to keep quiet? It is very difficult to decide which one of these reactions ( and the infinite other possibilities for example, singing in your head, mentally dressing the criticizer in a mickey mouse costume and many creative variants- okay, I'm kidding, I don't do any of these!) you should have when someone criticizes you, particularly when you consider it unjust or uncalled for.

This is a very high level  post and I want you to apply this post to the last time you received criticism. What was your reaction? I have been receiving a lot of criticism lately and I really welcome it, because I know I need it. However, this doesn't necessarily stop that little slimy thing in the pit of my belly from saying "come on, why are you saying that, this criticism is too harsh or even unnecessary!"

Again, this is a high-level post.

I think what this has taught me is to have a rethink about how I criticize because my own criticism could be quite intense as well. I think I am learning to be more temperate - to wait for two seconds or however long it takes for my brain to conjure the appropriate words, and try my best to complement before I criticize. So rather than simply telling you "I think this sucks" I will wait until my brain can make my mouth say "In as much as this idea is beautiful, I'm not sure it is appropriate for this purpose, why don't we try it for purpose X?" This principle can be applied to your love life, career or relationship with your parents or kids and trust me, it works wonders.

Maybe I should do a video about this, so you understand what I mean more? Video? I think so.