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Criticism involves passing a judgment about the positive and negative qualities of someone or something. It ranges from impromptu comments to a written detailed response. There are several types of criticism, some of them include:

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Theoretical

Practical

Impressionistic

Affective

Prescriptive

Descriptive

The truth, no matter how good criticism might sound, no one wants to hear that there’s a mistake or that they’re not living up to their potential at work.

Many see criticism as cancer in today’s society and a problem to avoid. Some Psychologists even agree that criticism creates anger and defensiveness on the part of the person criticized.

Nevertheless, criticism provides a negative and positive impact on a person and around them. Therefore, criticism should be both accepted and rejected in today’s society.

Accept criticisms if it fulfills their core purpose, which is self-improvement, and reject it has a greater capacity to destroy or provide a negative impact on your life. However, dealing with criticism is part of being a professional.

In addition, you cannot deal with criticism professionally without understanding its pros and cons.

Pros of Criticism

Paves way for improvement

No one is perfect, but the only way to know areas where you could improve is by accepting criticism.

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This is only possible if you are open to suggestions around how you might approach things differently. When you do this, it will be easier for you to identify areas that you need to work on and it’ll be easier for you to rally a team around a common goal or toward improving shared

processes.

Changes your Perspective

When you do something the same way repeatedly, you tend to lose sight of things and areas that aren’t working. Most times, you end up carrying out various activities the same way without knowing that there are areas that need to work on.

However, with the help of criticism from others, you gain a fresh pair of eyes and improve the way forward.

Shows that people are genuinely invested in your growth

No one would criticize you if they were not interested in what you’re doing. Even though sometimes criticisms might hurt you as the receiver, however, it’s a clear sign that people care about your growth and success.

It’ll teach you a lot about yourself and other people

Criticisms can be hurtful and accepting them might be worse, however, it requires proper emotional management to accept certain criticisms.

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Asides from pinpointing the areas you need to improve, accepting criticisms help you manage your emotional reactions, helping you improve your leadership qualities.

Cons of Criticisms

Limited thinking

The more you accept criticisms from others, the more it toys with your mindset. This can make you believe that you might not be able to carry out a particular task and gradually you unconsciously believe it.

Perfectionism

There is nothing like being perfect, rather you can give room for growth continuously. People with the above mindset tend to do well in their work even more than their perfectionist counterparts because they are less stressed and are happy with a job well done.

On the other hand, when you always accept criticisms, you tend to believe in perfectionism. 

Feelings of depression

It is widely believed that constant criticism can lead to an exacerbation of feelings of depression. This feeling if left unchecked could be quite damaging.

Become too hard on yourself

Too much of a good thing can become a bad thing. In the same way, constant criticisms can make you become too hard on yourself/take yourself too seriously. This can lead to low self-esteem or thinking you’re not good enough

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This article was first published on 24th May 2022

grace-christos

Grace Christos Is a content creator with a proven track record of success in content marketing, online reputation management, sales strategy, and so much more.

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