"Well, you didn't have to say it like that..."

Criticism.

Even though I understand the importance of being corrected when I make a mistake I still won't say I like criticism. And if the criticism comes in a particularly harsh form it is even harder to take.

But...

One thing I have learned about criticism is that it is up to me to weigh out the correction being given; to separate the facts from the frustration.

Let me put it this way.

Let's say that I was invited to make a keynote speech at some big event (hey, it could happen). Now let's also say that as I am preparing for my appearance I brush up against something and get a big smudge on my face.

On my way to the stage I run into two people; my best friend in the whole world and my worst enemy in the whole world.

My friend, not wanting to embarrass me in front of my enemy, says nothing to me about the mark on my face. However, my enemy takes advantage of the opportunity by emphatically pointing out my problem.

In the end, which person helped me more? My friend who chose to be nice but would have let me take the stage in front of thousands of people with a huge mark on my face, or my enemy who rudely criticized me but allowed me the opportunity to clean my face before taking the stage?

In the end, the best thing for me is to accept the truth about a situation regardless of how polite or kind the delivery comes across.

The next time someone criticizes you... try to find any truth that might be hiding in their message... even if they could/should have said it nicer.