When Criticism Cuts Too Deep

~Tuesday Thoughts~

Today will be the last in the Starting School mini-series. The first three are "Homework? Maybe later…", "Never quite reaching ‘perfect’" and "But everyone else is doing it". 

Probable everyone has encountered criticism in their lives, be it from friends, family members, teachers, coaches or someone else. And sometimes, granted, we can just shrug it off. “Who cares what Mr. So-and-so thinks?” But most of the time, I think, it cuts… and sometimes deeply.

Maybe we’ve worked so hard on a science project and then a friend comes up and asks what this useless little thing is supposed to be. Or maybe we’ve read everything but the two final chapters in a super-long book, but the teacher only notices what we missed. Maybe we’ve did the best we could in a game and the coach says that “we could have done better.”  Maybe we’ve tried to impress a parent and he/she just says “whatever”.

So what can we do when the criticism stings?

1. Remember God still loves us. He loves us even when we mess up or when others seem not to.

2. Evaluate the criticism. Maybe it’s valid. Could we learn from it and change something for the better?

3. Talk it out. If we can, it’s better to talk through the problem with the other person. Maybe there was a misunderstanding or he/she never wanted it to come out so harsh.

4. Make someone else’s life brighter. Since we already know that criticism hurts, we can use that knowledge for good. Encouraging others is a great thing to do. 1 Thessalonians 5:11

How about you? What ideas do you have on dealing with criticism?