At my worst I get peevish and snappy and I lash out at the critic. Why?

  • Sometimes it is just a bad day. Under other pressures I lose patience.
  • Sometimes I just feel like the critic does not understand what I am trying to do.
  • Sometimes I feel like the critic is embracing a bureaucratic mindset.
  • Sometimes [deep breath] I think the critic is beneath my level of skill.
  • Sometimes I feel like the critic is doing it just to get under my skin (these last two are probably related).
  • Sometimes I am just an arrogant jerk.

Okay, most of the time.

And this is a shame. Criticism is an opportunity to learn, it is a gift (yes, I said gift) that could very well make me better.

Not all criticism is equal, but that is for me to judge, with gratitude and humility.