Criticism is a fact of life. No matter how much you may run and hide from it, criticism will always find you, in one form or another. From your home to school to work – and even the blogosphere, the chances are that you have to face some sort of criticism.
Now that that’s established, the question is this: what do you do when you face criticism in your blogs?
Jaren gave us some helpful tips on how to deal with negative blog comments. I particularly like how he stressed on the fact that you don’t have to take it personally. It is a good outlook although difficult to actually employ. When someone says something negative about something you have created, it is kind of hard not to take it personally.
Yet here is my take on this – why not learn to take things in stride and then, taking it one step further, thrive on this sort of criticism?
I am not encouraging the self infliction of pain, believe me. What I am saying is that we have to learn to use this negative energy and turn it into something positive – and more constructive, at that.
Writing down your thoughts for everyone to read means that it is inevitable that you will get hecklers and shameless people countering your every idea. Those that do so without any constructive ideas in mind should be ignored. Those that give comments with even the smallest kernel of insight should be sought for. This is the kind of criticism that will hone and sharpen our writing skills and style.
Thrive on this kind of criticism and watch your writing flourish.
Originally posted on November 3, 2007 @ 2:46 am
