And don’t anyone criticise me for replying to my own post – I kill you! :)

Where criticism is justified and constructive I will accept it and learn from it. The Dao Te Ching has a saying – greet your catastrophies as your friends. I like that.

When it’s unwarranted and either someone trying to offload blame or make them self feel better I will push back on it and deal with it rationally. Accept the criticism that’s going to make a worthwhile difference. And not the rest!

I know this is more about in the workplace than contributing online but your article

I found it immensely difficult when I first got into the industry, and couldn’t really find any advice on how to deal with the things you mention, such as unfair or irrational criticism – most of the time I ended up thinking it was because my work simply wasn’t good enough yet. In a way I guess that meant I just had to keep trying harder and harder, which I did and now have a position in a great company.

There will be those that don’t react to the criticism by working harder to get what they want though. Those that aren’t quite as confident as they need to be, for whatever reason, and give up and don’t pursue a career in this industry as a result. That surely has to be the saddest thing about all of this.

Like you Paul, I got badly bullied in school, and my Mum’s advice was sort of similar. She used to just tell me that if I asked why they were doing it, I’d probably end up finding out they were jealous in some way, or insecure, and that if I didn’t let myself be concerned about it all it would all stop and I’d get what I wanted eventually.

Turns out she was right even in later life!

Just keep on going and do what you gotta do, don’t let anyone else get to you – pick a goal and stick to it! 

:-D