The dread of criticism is the death of genius’ – William Gilmore Simms
What is ‘criticism’?
In the Oxford Dictionary, the word ‘criticism’ has two main definitions: 1) The expression of disapproval of someone or something based on perceived faults or mistakes and 2) The analysis and judgment of the merits and faults of a literary or artistic work. This blog focuses on the first definition.
How to avoid criticism
Apparently, Aristotle, the Ancient Greek philosopher and polymath, said ‘There is only one way to avoid criticism: do nothing, say nothing and be nothing’. As such, he viewed criticism as an inevitable consequence of a productive life. No doubt we all want to be active, productive and useful citizens of the world, so we are bound to accept the likelihood of criticism as a result. If we can’t avoid criticism, then, we ought to devote some thought to how best to think about it and deal with it. Which will probably depend, at least in part, on the type of criticism we get.
Two main types of criticism
There are far more than two types of criticism, of course, but I want to focus on two that I think are very common: constructive criticism and negative criticism. By negative criticism I mean criticism that voices an objection or draws attention to a perceived weakness/failing/mistake with the main purpose of showing our disapproval or disagreement: ‘You are rubbish at netball’; ‘I hate how you have painted that wall’; ‘It’s disgraceful that you never take your turn at babysitting’; ‘That’s a stupid decision’ etc…
By constructive criticism, I mean either providing criticism as feedback designed to help a person improve in some way: ‘Next time, you ought to ask everyone what they want to drink before ordering’; ‘In future, try hard to keep your eyes open when you make that tackle’; or showing disapproval/disagreement etc… but in such a way as to clearly signal that you think the person can do better: ‘Don’t yawn like that, you know better!’; ‘You’ve forgotten your manners!’ and even, ‘You can do far better than that!’ These are examples of criticism that are easy to take constructively.
With criticism, the intention of the person making the criticism is crucial; even if the words used in the criticism are negative, we can often sense whether the person’s intention is positive.
Responding to criticism
It is far easier to respond positively to criticism that we feel is constructive than it is to respond positively to negative criticism, especially if we feel that the negative criticism is unfair. Advice on how to respond well to criticism abounds, mostly taking the form of you-really-ought-to-see-what-you-can-learn-from-it. Fair enough, but I also like these quotations:
- ‘Take criticism seriously, but not personally. If there is truth or merit in the criticism, try to learn from it. Otherwise, let it roll right off you’. Hilary Clinton
- ‘Let me never fall into the vulgar mistake of dreaming that I am persecuted whenever I am contradicted’. Ralph Waldo Emerson
- ‘Criticism, like rain, should be gentle enough to nourish a man’s growth without destroying his roots’. Frank A Clark
- ‘A creative life cannot be sustained by approval any more than it can be destroyed by criticism’. Will Self
- ‘Always stop to consider carefully whether criticism made has any foundation whatsoever; if it does, do something about it, if it doesn’t, treat it with humble disdain’. Me
