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" I have a very tough time being criticized. To be honest, I also have a tough time being corrected\u2014even for the smallest mistakes\u2014and I tend to react very angrily. I&amp;#039;ve wrestled to get this under control in my professional life, but I still have trouble with it at home. All my daughter has to say is something like, &amp;quot;You forgot to remind me to bring my library book to school\u2026,&amp;quot; and I&amp;#039;m off: &amp;quot;What do you mean? It&amp;#039;s not my responsibility! How was I supposed to know that Wednesday is Library Day?&amp;quot; Or my husband might say\u2014mildly\u2014about our younger daughter, &amp;quot;Don&amp;#039;t you think she should be having more playdates?&amp;quot; and I&amp;#039;ll blow up: &amp;quot;It&amp;#039;s such a pain to do the scheduling\u2014why don&amp;#039;t you do it!?&amp;quot; or &amp;quot;She had one last week!&amp;quot; I say these things even though I happen to agree with my husband that our daughter should have more playdates. I think his criticism hits me so hard because of my own worries about committing mommy malpractice. I try to avoid blame by behaving as perfectly as I can, and when someone finds fault, I lose my temper. Zoikes! How I struggle to keep my sense of humor. The following strategies help me (I don&amp;#039;t always use them, but I try). 1. Delay your reaction Count to 10; take a deep breath; sleep on it. Whatever you do, wait until tomorrow to send that e-mail. We&amp;#039;ve all heard the saying &amp;quot;Don&amp;#039;t let the sun go down on your anger,&amp;quot; but if I&amp;#039;m angry at my husband for criticizing me, I&amp;#039;m better off waiting until after a good night&amp;#039;s sleep to bring it up. By the next morning, I usually can see his point and appreciate that his criticism wasn&amp;#039;t a big deal.  2. Really pay attention Instead of just nodding and formulating retorts, try to understand your critic&amp;#039;s point of view. I find it helpful to take notes as the person is talking, because it occupies me and boosts my detachment. Also, I try to rephrase what the critic is saying and repeat it back, which helps ensure that I&amp;#039;ve really heard and absorbed what has been said. (This also prevents my snapping out a biting response.)  3. Don&amp;#039;t expose yourself to criticism from people you don&amp;#039;t respect  I need to stay creative, openhearted, and honest, and I can&amp;#039;t be those things if I feel defensive and apologetic. That&amp;#039;s why I never read random online reviews\u2014I worry that I&amp;#039;ll react even if what they say is unfounded. Negative words can be stronger than positive ones, and I don&amp;#039;t want to change my writing for the worse in response to some person&amp;#039;s thoughtless comment.  4. Change your frame of mind  Rather than seeing a critic as attacking me, I say to myself, This person is helping me. I welcome criticism. With my writing, for example, I take a breath before I get an editor&amp;#039;s suggestions, then remind myself, I&amp;#039;m eager to hear how to improve my book/article/blog post.  5. Admit your mistakes My father gave me an outstanding piece of advice when I got my first real job. He said, &amp;quot;If you take the blame when you deserve it, people will give you responsibility.&amp;quot; I&amp;#039;ve found that to be true. Difficult, yes, but true. In my experience, until someone in a group accepts blame, everyone remains preoccupied with fingering the person at fault. Once I raise my hand (if appropriate), everyone else can relax\u2026and we can focus on what needs to be done. By saying to my daughter, &amp;quot;I&amp;#039;m sorry\u2014I forgot to make an appointment with the eye doctor, and you&amp;#039;ve told me many times that your eyes have been feeling uncomfortable; I apologize, and I&amp;#039;ll do it right now,&amp;quot; I&amp;#039;m showing her that I&amp;#039;m willing to fix the problem, and I&amp;#039;m building her trust in me.   It&amp;#039;s a paradox: Showing weakness can be a sign of strength. When you demonstrate that you can accept criticism calmly and learn from it, you&amp;#039;ll end up working better with others and improving yourself. Even if it&amp;#039;s not much fun. "^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://www.goodhousekeeping.com/health/wellness/advice/a19174/the-happiness-project-how-to-handle-criticism/>