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TURN THAT CRITICISM INTO A LEARNING EXPERIENCE

I have realized from personal experience and by careful observation that criticism can be an effective learning experience.

Though no one actually loves criticism, but the fact remains that you may need it for you to have a lasting success in life, career, business and whatever you are involved in.
Successful people in this world are not people who avoid mistakes or errors. They are the ones who learn from them.
We all make mistakes. There is no one that is above mistakes.
No matter how careful and meticulous you are, there will still be one or two mistakes you will make.
I learnt from diligent study that Henry Ford, in inventing the automobile, made one big mistake the first time he tried. what was that mistake? He left out the reverse gear. And guess what? He simply corrected his mistake. Thank God Ford corrected his mistake o! Can you imagine having cars today without a reverse gear?
We all have some problems in responding to criticism.
Criticism tends to stir up any number of strong emotional feelings in us, from guilt and resentment to outright anger. However, there are three ways of handling criticism. It is very important for you to know which one you fall into.
The first reaction is FIGHT.
You can decide to say, " I don't want to hear about it." In doing this, you deny the criticism; you turn it down and fight it.
If someone criticizes you, your response may be, "You are out of your mind" or "Bros/Sis, keep your opinions to yourself." In this case, you are fighting the criticism and may even end up fighting the critic.
The second way of reacting to criticism is FLIGHT.
When you are using the flight approach, you are saying, "Abeg, don't criticize me, because I can't face it; I can't discuss it." You may even think, "How can I be so stupid?" or "I never do anything right." In this case, you might start crying or become overwhelmed by it.
You may even decide not to do anything tangible again so as to avoid being criticized thereby shutting down your creativity.
Interestingly, flight seems to be the opposite of fight: fight is aggressive while flight is timid or passive. But actually, they have more in common than you and I might realize. In both reactions, you deny the criticism.
These two reactions (fight and flight) are both refusals to examine the truth. One is through tears while one is through aggression.
The third reaction is EVALUATE.
This happens where we have trained ourselves to be objective and open minded. Though evaluation is easier said than done. But it is necessary for us to get the best out of the criticism.
Some steps to evaluate criticism are:
1. Ask yourself, "What can I learn from this person?" There is something to be learned if you look deeply into what has been said.
2. Agree with part of the criticism. If you do that, here is what you will accomplish; you will be letting the person know that he or she has been heard. It has a way of killing their initial aggression most times. It deflates their Tyres.
3. Be sure you understand the criticism. Take the time to understand whether it is a constructive criticism or an unfair criticism that is born out of envy, hatred, mischief or wickedness.
4.Give yourself time to digest the criticism before responding.
5. Analyze and get the facts. Good decision makers analyze the facts first.
6. Adjust your behavior if there is need for you to. Don't hesitate to make necessary adjustments.
It is not every criticism that should be seen as an attack on your person. Sometimes, the evidence of your humility is shown in the way you handle criticism.
I don't know if I have made little sense to someone reading this post.

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