How Criticism Helps You Grow Stronger and Undeterred?

Stay Undeterred and Get Stronger While Facing Criticism

Mihika was very sad and upset over the continuous criticism and negative feedback of her bosses as well as clients; she wasn’t able to figure out where things were going wrong and how to win the trust of the people around her. She was helpless and couldn't  gain popularity at her work place despite her strong work commitment and efficiency. She was putting in her hard efforts and dedication in whatever was assigned to her yet felt incompetent and humiliated whenever her colleagues or managers would find faults in her work. She was perturbed about her future and felt as if this situation was a career cul-de-sac. She was in a dilemma- was there an urgent need to cope up with the criticism in her professional life or to accept the ‘Quit Moment’?

We all face criticism in life, by friends, family, society or seniors and colleagues. It can be a performance review, employee feedback or a piece of advice (actually an implicit remark) by the elders or the extended family. Now the question that arises here is: do you feel killed by it or you give yourself  an extra chance to do a little better, next time?

To assess our own attitude towards criticism let’s do a small activity. Let's take a moment to think about the last time when you received a compliment and the last time when you received a negative comment. You must have felt very happy after receiving the compliment but how did you feel after receiving the criticism; certainly you were distressed about it and wanted to reject it. In a bid to avoid accepting ourselves as failures we don't want to listen to the critics' opinion and hence, give birth to an approach of being an escapist and mediocre for the rest of our life.

The great Indian mystic poet of 15th century, Kabir Das says, we must always have a fierce critic in the vicinity as his constant criticism will purify our mind and soul and  fortify our intellect with his habit of finding faults in our actions. Indeed, constructive criticism forces us to evaluate our endeavors, honesty and guides us to boost productivity in life. Would you like to gain more insight on how criticism helps you grow stronger and undeterred? Let's read a little more to clarify this point-

 

Accepting Criticism Makes You More Coachable:

Being coachable means having the ability to learn and evolve with the instructions and guidance of our mentors, peers and sometimes our well wishers also. Staying rigid on one’s views and opinions about a situation or performance makes one intransigent and hinders one’s personal and professional growth. If you develop acceptance for a constructive criticism, you will certainly start improving upon your weaknesses, grow stronger and hone your skills. In a nut shell if you pay attention on expert’s criticism; embrace it with a positive attitude and have a realistic view on your capabilities and flaws you will certainly gain new skills faster and nurture the ability of introspection and retrospection, eventually becoming a better version of yourself. So learn to stay undeterred while facing criticism. Those who take criticism positively, always ask clarifying questions when confronted with conflicting or uncomfortable situations. They are always ready to give a try to new ideas and opinions.

Criticism Encourages Continuum:

Nelson Mandela spent 27 years of his life in imprisonment and faced a lot of criticism and injustice in his life, yet he remained unstoppable and continued his fight against racism and inequality. If taken as challenge; criticism boosts the continuum and never allows you to sit idle and be complacent after an achievement. It keeps you thriving on the challenges with a constant pursuit of perfection. It instills more Grit and Determination in your character because every time when you accomplish a task and face criticism; you become more determined to do things with stronger efforts and more energy.

Being Defensive on Advice Shows Cowardice:

Do you become defensive when someone gives you advice on maintaining a healthy life style, improving dietary and hygiene habits or to keep calm at workplace? Just think about your responses: do you give excuses on such advices? If yes, then certainly there’s a problem. When we respond with endless excuses to criticism; we actually deny seeing the opportunities that lie on our way to help us grow as a person; as an individual and thus we tend to avoid the person who gives us a valuable suggestion. Every time when you receive a suggestion to improve upon something, do you wheel out the same excuses and statistics? This practice shows cowardice and prompts us to react negatively to feedback instead of addressing the issues which really demand improvement. Dwelling on criticism also reduces the number of well wishers and friends in our life so learn to take criticism constructively and believe in “you could do better”.

Taking things in the right way, by the right people can do wonders in one’s life. Taking criticism on a positive note helps you look at things in an objective light that means you are paying attention on your work, life style, habits, behavior and professional attitude. Criticism is actually a gift in disguise, accept it wholeheartedly and invigorate your efforts to achieve the best.

At the same time it’s imperative to understand the source of that criticism also. It can be considered nebulous when done by an arrogant or self-obsessed person, so be clever enough to understand if you are targeted by the gauche people in the vicinity, observe if your critics look askance at your accomplishments or if somebody is trying to demean you for no reason. But even if you are trapped in such situation; I would say you are blessed, don’t take me wrong- what I mean to say that malicious criticism is also equally important in life; it teaches you how to stay undeterred, maintain equipoise and be at peace amidst this chaos of criticism and negativity and that’s the most important life skill in today’s scenario; keep yourself happy no matter how adverse the situations are! It will train you to distance yourself from NEGATIVITY and limit the influence of naysayers and haters in your proximity. If you stop engaging with such people; you will be able to devote your time and energy to maintain your happiness quotient.  

And staying happy is the sole aim of life!

Tenacity : A Life-Changing Hunger To Achieve The Impossible

 Tenacity Can Write Your Destiny

Chhutni Mahato, a fighter, an inspiration and a crusader who changed not just her life but of many women in her state, let’s read a story of tenacity; from a victim of witch hunt to Padma Shri Awardee, Chhutni Devi, her life, struggles and her emergence as a fearless, feisty leader against a grisly social evil.

Tenacity Turns a Victim of Witch Hunt to Padma Shri Awardee

A battle against a gruesome social evil that gave birth to a warrior with the name of Chhutni Mahato, who herself was once branded as witch, wasn’t an easy road for a woman of Saraikela, Jharkhand where Witch-Hunt was a common practice to torture women and snatch their property. She was a girl of 13 when she got married in the year 1978, education was a dream for the girls of her time in her village and child marriage was the only way to settle a girl child. An unfortunate day in March 1995 changed her entire life when a little girl in her neighborhood fell sick and she was accused of practicing witchcraft and black magic. Her neighbors attempted a sexual assault on her and forced her to drink urine. She fought to prove her innocence and even tried to seek help of the local police but was demanded Rs.10000, for lodging a case against the perpetrators. After having seized an opportunity, she fled from the village with her four children and was back to her native place but here also the situation was equally beleaguered; witch hunt was prevailing in her native village also. She finally resolved to stand against this odious social evil and became the trailblazer in abolishing Witch-hunt. This practice of cruelty and ostracizing women is rampant in the state. According to the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) 575 women were lynched after they had been branded as witches during the years from 2001 to 2019.

Her arduous journey had no end till she met Nidhi Khare who guided her to seek help from an NGO which was fighting against this social evil, witch-hunting in Jharkhand. With the help of Deputy Commissioner, Amit Khare she set up an anti-witch-hunting consultation centre and since then there was no looking back for Chhutni Mahato. She has rescued 125 women in past two decades and relentlessly working for the rights of women in her region. Her tenacity and unflinching trust in her efforts finally paid her and served the society at large.

“As my sufferings mounted, I soon realized that there were two ways in which I could respond to my situation- either to react with bitterness or seek to transform the suffering into a creative force. I decided to follow the latter course.”

-         Martin Luther King Jr.

These words of Martin Luther explains nicely how one can transform the sufferings and adversities in life by converting them into guiding forces and that is only possible when you cultivate tenacity in your personality. Tenacity is one of the most important human attributes that invigorates your spirit to never give up despite strenuous challenges and hardships. It arouses your hunger to persist and persevere till you achieve the impossible.

Tenacity instills Adaptability

Adaptability is an essential element when you start doing something which is out of your Comfort Zone; one has to weather hundreds of unexpected hurdles to persist on the aspirations. If you can accommodate with the unpredictable, you can cultivate tenacity. One must be adaptable to become more tenacious because you cannot control the circumstances; you can only channelize your strength and efforts to pave your way of success under the undesirable circumstances also. Your adaptability helps you allay your fear and anxiety because you are no more scared of the unfamiliar situations and know how to handle them deftly.

Tenacity Unfolds Your Potential

Tenacity helps you sow Determination and positivity in the soil of your efforts and your dreams; you stay focused, wait patiently for the desired outcome, remain firm on your choices and finally reap a splendid harvest. It makes you believe in your strengths and skills and unleash your potential. In your pursuit of excellence, tenacity makes you resist the temptations and refrain you from being judgmental. It gives you a clear vision of what you aim to and how to prepare yourself for it by breaking all the barriers that hold you back.  

Tenacity: A Byproduct of Self-discipline

Tenacity demands a great amount of self-discipline, if an athlete doesn’t train himself, he can’t expect victory for his performance. If you don’t devote long hours of practice and a patient repetition in your efforts to master a skill, how you will hope to fulfill your dreams. Achievers never wander willy-nilly, but plan and practice with self-discipline which impels them to unearth their hidden talents and enjoy the accomplishments.

 

The secrets of success are ever-elusive, and there is no doubt that success, at both personal and professional levels, is an unrelenting process; one can never say at some or the other point in life that he has attained success. It’s not a matter of talent, skills, creativity or destiny; your success is all about your tenacity and perseverance, it’s the answer of the question that is  frequently asked to you by your SELF- how honestly and strongly you have strived for it? The tenacious people always answer overwhelmingly- I persevered till I achieved it. So catapult your career and personal growth by practicing tenacity and perseverance in your attitude. Next time when you make a foray into a new activity, skill or task, be tenacious, you will certainly come out as a winner. The story of Chhutni Mahato proves that at the core of every great change, there is always a great human and this great human can be any; it can be you, it can be me. If you have ideas, if you have passion for making a difference, if you have tenacity, you can climb any mountain of marvels.