Fear of criticism

Doing things in an innovative way, or building your own enterprise comes as a challenge for anyone who dares to stand out of the statu quo. There are many opinion we hear and most of them are a critic of what we are doing, and those ideas get in our skin and we mistake them as fear of failure, when in fact we are more afraid to be critiqued for our actions, to be held responsible of what went wrong and be ridiculed in front of others.

“What people are afraid of isn’t failure. It’s blame. Criticism. We choose not to be remarkable because we’re worried about criticism. We hesitate to create innovative movies, launch new human resource initiatives, design a menu that makes diners take notice, or give an audacious sermon because we’re worried, deep down, that someone will hate it and call us on it.” Seth Godin. “Tribes: We Need You to Lead Us”.

We may even fall for future comments to stop doing the things we love, because we have already set ourselves a chimera of blame and cristicism and negativity, that we let something that has not happened, to crush our future. All the ideas we may have and we want to make them real, comes with a price: fame for doing the right thing or because we ruined it and make a fool of ourselves. Part of the success we have in life is being accepted by society, what’s the point to have all the money in the world and being rejected by your loved ones, that is why what others think of us is an important part of our decision making.

“Fear of criticism is a powerful deterrent because the criticism doesn’t actually have to occur for the fear to set in. Watch a few people get criticized for being innovative, and it’s pretty easy to convince yourself that the very same thing will happen to you if you’re not careful.
Constructive criticism, of course, is a terrific tool. If a critic tells you, “I don’t like it” or “This is disappointing,” he’s done no good at all. In fact, quite the opposite is true. He’s used his power to injure without giving you any information to help you do better next time. Worse, he hasn’t given those listening any data with which to make a thoughtful decision on their own. Not only that, but by refusing to reveal the basis for his criticism, he’s being a coward, because there’s no way to challenge his opinion.” Seth Godin.

We must learn from experience that there may be critics, but we choose to accept them or reject them. We cannot listen to all and accept what they are saying if they doesn’t really know what happened and what we went through to get where we are now. It is easy to judge, but they are also responsible for the outcome of things. What we judge affects other people in a negative or a positive way. We may as well be constructive in what we say, rather than destructive, the future may be affected by what we say of others.

“One bad review doesn’t ruin my day because I realize what a badge of honor it is to get a bit of criticism at all. It means that I confounded expectations—that I didn’t deliver the sequel or the simple, practical guide that some expected. It means that, in fact, I did something worth remarking on.» Seth Godin.

What we say about our work is a proof of our capabilities to make something better, to break the monotony around us, to dare to do something different. «So the challenge, as you contemplate your next opportunity to be boring or remarkable, is to answer these two questions:
 
“If I get criticized for this, will I suffer any measurable impact? Will I lose my job, get hit upside the head with a softball bat, or lose important friendships?”

If the only side effect of the criticism is that you will feel bad about the criticism, then you have to compare that bad feeling with the benefits you’ll get from actually doing something worth doing. Being remarkable is exciting, fun, profitable, and great for your career. Feeling bad wears off.     

And then, once you’ve compared the bad feeling and the benefits, and you’ve sold yourself on taking the remarkable path, answer this one:
 
How can I create something that critics will criticize?” Seth Godin. “Tribes: We Need You to Lead Us”. Apple Books.

Dare to take up on criticism and doing what you dare to make a world a better place, at least the change is in yourself. What are you waiting for?