You can take it! Improve your skills and become a more confident person by learning to accept criticism and incorporating it. Read more to find out how you can easily do so.

Feedback, even when delivered in the most positive manner, is always tough to take in. We must often swallow our pride and take it with stride, even when we don’t want to hear it. As a business student and professional, this is going to be the case more often than not… especially when working in team environments. Since we have to deal with it no matter what, why not learn to deal with it in a more helpful and constructive manner and turn it into an opportunity for growth?

OPEN YOURSELF UP TO IT

Don’t close yourself off to receiving negative feedback. This isn’t going to make it go away or help you in any way. Instead, be open and willing to receiving feedback and turn it into a positive learning opportunity with future growth as a goal. There are going to be many times at work or in school where you’re going to have to hear some negative feedback, so you may as well get used to it and open yourself up to the possibilities that can come from it!

ASK FOR IT

Don’t just wait for it, seek it out. While you might think so, this does not make you seem weak and in fact does the opposite! You appear confident because you’re that sure of yourself and it further shows that you’re willing to improve and grow. Steve Jobs always encouraged his employees to challenge his ideas and prove him wrong if they felt his ideas were weak. He welcomed criticism and gave criticism in return, which, in one way, drove Apple to the success it is today.

Accepting and seeking criticism show that you are ready and willing to learn at work. When others see that you’re open to the feedback, they will respect you and it will in turn give you confidence.

DON’T TAKE IT PERSONALLY & DON’T JUMP TO CONCLUSIONS

It can be difficult to bounce back from criticism and even more difficult to not let it eat away at your confidence. It’s not impossible to do so, however. If you focus on the reason behind the delivery and remember not to take anything personally, you’ll be able to use it to your advantage rather than focusing on the wrong aspects of it.

To better use it to your benefit, try responding with questions and get clarification so that you can truly use it to improve yourself. This also helps you change your perspective on the person who is giving you the feedback instead of leaving with the notion that this person is out to get you.

INCORPORATE IT!

If there is anything you’ve learned from reading this, it’s that there is a strong correlation between a person’s confidence and their ability to accept negative feedback from others. As you improve as a person in your skills and abilities, your confidence does too. The sooner you realize that negative feedback is there to help you improve, the sooner you can do so and the more confident you will become.

Help yourself flourish in your life and career by opening yourself up to it, asking for it and truly embracing that (often pesky) negative feedback!