How to Deal With Criticism

All criticism is not the same. If someone gives a one-star review, all they are saying is, "This wasn't for me." Not "I read it carefully, and this deserves one star."
If a vegetarian gives a one-star review to a steak house, it doesn't tell you anything other than it's a steak house.
The pacific ocean has a 3,5 star review on Google maps.
There are worthless forms of criticism and valuable forms of criticism. The valuable form looks like this:
-
1. It’s from someone who gets the point, is on the journey, and respects you for putting your skin in the game.
-
2. They see you missed something, that something wasn't quite right, and they give you constructive feedback that helps you improve.
-
People often use criticism to project their insecurities. It's not easy, but over time, you will improve at ignoring criticism that isn't helpful.
-
Brené Brown is a researcher studying courage, vulnerability, shame, and empathy. Dealing with criticism is a big part of her academic and personal expertise, as she, like any normal person, has to deal with it.
One of her best-known quotes describes how we should approach worthless criticism:
"If you are not in the arena getting your ass kicked, I am not interested in your feedback."
She compares anyone trying to do something new, challenging, and original to being in the arena. When we walk out to the arena (put out our work), we see many seats and people. But we focus on the critics. The first idea that comes to mind on how to deal with this is to get rid of the critics. But you don't control who is in the arena.
So, the best way forward is to "reserve seats" for them. When you are trying to be creative and to innovate, say to them: I see you, I hear you, but I'm going to show up and do this anyway.

One of the critics you have to reserve the seat for is yourself.
-
We are often our biggest critics. And that's the worst kind of criticism. It's the gremlin in your head telling you you're not enough, or who do you think you are, that you always mess up, or that you're a failure.
You need to change that voice to a cheerleader. It's okay to make mistakes because you learn from them. What's not okay is beating yourself up.
One way to break negative self-talk is to practice gratitude through journaling. In just a few minutes a day, it will help you change your inner critic into someone who always has your back, even when everything isn't going the way you want.