Reposted from Personal Excellence blog
by Celestine Chua
1. Don’t Take It Personally. Most of the times, their criticisms reflect more about themselves than about you. They react in this manner because of certain beliefs and frameworks they have about life. You may think the critical person is all out to get you, but it’s more likely he/she reacts in this same manner toward everyone else too. . . .
2. Understand Their Real Message. Sometimes, critical people are just misunderstood. They may just trying to offer an opinion but it becomes misinterpreted due to their lack of tact. At times this swirls into a big misunderstanding. . . . Unfortunately, people become hung up over “how” communication is done (the words used, the tone of communication), rather than “what” is being communicated (the message). The former ensures the message is conveyed correctly, but ultimately it is the message that matters. Critical people may be curt, but we are the ones who choose to attach the negativity to their words. Critical people may lack tact, but that’s because they lack awareness of how their behavior implicate others. You may be surprised, but sometimes they are really just clueless on how they are coming across until they see themselves in action. If you are taking their comments negatively when they don’t intend to be negative at all, that’s probably the worst way to expend your energy.
Read the rest at Personal Excellence