I recently wrote a short piece about Madonna that the editors of Salon featured. After my initial excitement subsided, I braced myself for the comments. After re-reading the mean ones, basking in the good ones and laughing at the juvenile, I told myself it's time to move on.
Putting ourselves out there in the world will always bring praise and haters - it's the nature of the beast. So what do we do when we are on the receiving end of negative opinion?
For some of us, it's easy to wallow in the negative. Our inside voices seem to give us a head start by saying things like "you're no good", "why are you even trying"... etc. It's hard to re-wire our brains and tell ourselves: "you are worthy", "you can do this". Sometimes it's harder than others, but it can be done.
I used to take things more personally until I heard the best saying: What other people think of me is none of my business. That's how I respond to criticism. I remember that the only thing that matters is what I think of me. It's the only thing I can control.
So tell me - whether it be from someone or your own self - how do you handle criticism?
