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Thursday, April 04, 2024
This philosophical theory can help you stop taking criticism personally
theconversation.com: Receiving criticism in the workplace, whether on written reports and projects, presentations or performance reviews, can make us doubt ourselves. It can feel impossible not to take criticism personally because many of us tend to get our self-worth from our careers.
11 comments:
Carly Tamborello
said...
I’ve always thought that character traits and skills are a part of personality, so it’s interesting to hear this take that personality isn’t something that can be exactly defined for any given person. However I see how there is something safe in this idea: you can’t take criticisms too personally, because they do not and cannot comment on who you are, but only what you are. The main idea seems to be not to worry because no one is seeing the full picture and is only assessing your external actions and indicators. I will say though, this probably isn’t much help for people pleasers who wants people to see the full picture and to be able to influence others’ opinion of their personality. It sort of just brings us back full circle to the reminder that feedback is about your work and your actions, not about you as a person, and does not reflect people’s opinion of you or your personality. Which is true, to be fair.
This was an interesting read but I also feel like it was just rephrasing “Don’t take people’s criticism personally.” I get the concept of separating the “who” from the “what” as the article puts it in receiving criticism as to avoid mixing public perception with perception of oneself. However, in the end the advice of this philosophical breakthrough is to just remember when people in the workplace give criticism, it’s about what the work you produced and how it’s performing, not about you as a person and how you are performing–unless their criticism was bluntly an attack. I think the article made it clear that people’s opinions of us don’t matter unless we make them matter–and that while we can’t control what others think about us and what we do, we can control who to let into our psyche and coerce us to change.
I think one of the most important skills we can learn if we want to succeed in the live entertainment industry is to take criticism in a productive way. Whether we are performers or working in technical theater we receive criticism and depending on where we are in the process we can receive huge amounts of criticism. I really liked how this article talked about personality traits as a tool to better receive criticism. I think the separation between who we are and what we are is really important. And I think it is something that I have never thought about. But I understand and could see why separating the two could be incredibly helpful and I am already thinking of situations that would have been better for me if I was able to do that. I think this is a skill that would take a long time to get good at. I would assume most people naturally take criticism personally and it takes a long time to get over that.
Criticism in the arts is an inevitability. And in theatre, an art form that is so collaborative that there are entire booklets crediting all the different people who worked on a project, criticism is always present. However I think it is important to note the difference between criticism and critique. Oftentimes I think people feel as though they are receiving criticism, aimed to tear someone down or devalue them or their work. However it may actually be critique, aimed to provide feedback to improve their work in progress or work in the future. I see this so often, where someone receives critique harshly, and begins to receive it as criticism against them as a person, instead of feedback about their work. It can often become a mindset issue, which if someone is not aware of, can easily be altered by a harsh tone. Though I’d love more to read an article about how to give better critique.
This article took a much different approach to the topic of receiving criticism than I thought it would. Although, to be honest I was not really sure what it was going to say. Especially since everyone receives criticism differently and some things hit differently than others depending on the person. The article makes the distinction that criticism is aimed at what you produced rather than who you personally are. That it is all based on what is seen externally which is often not accurate rather than being based on the sum of the whole. It’s about seeing the big picture instead of the small details that make up the picture. So, it seems to be reminding readers that it is not personal because no one is looking at you the person, they are looking at what they see. Which to me is not really a new perspective, since I grew up being told that a criticism is someone’s opinion of what you produced and has nothing to do with their opinion of you. So, to me the article was really just using different words to describe the same attitude that has always been taken. However, I do think it is an important article to take into account because especially in this industry the ability to take criticism is crucial.
I really enjoyed this article because it took such a personal approach, having the author speak in the first person and therefore making the readers not feel like they are crazy for having a hard time taking criticism. This is something I used to struggle with a lot, but have gotten better at over time. I think there will always be people who will criticize you in a more personal way, but those people suck and it just is what it is. Of course criticism will always seem personal whether you're giving it or receiving it, but I've found that it's helpful to just try and hear them out and understand why the criticism is happening. Whether you've done something great or made a mistake, it's just about understanding why your actions worked or didnt work and try to expand on that. At the same time, something I have come to appreciate is knowing that I will always try my best at what I'm doing and if someone has a problem with something I've done, I will work on it moving forward. There's no reason to be too hard on yourself because everyone makes mistakes, so if it wasn't a life-threatening mistake then it's easier to avoid going forward.
I really like philosophy, in particular the work of Hannah Arendt when she wrote about complacency in bad power structures. I think that her tenant of not taking things someone says about your work as a personal attack against your character is very important for our line of work, as people will receive a lot of feedback over the design process, some liked, and some not. It's important to be able to emotionally regulate yourself when you're making tough decisions, and not become too attached to your thoughts. It's important for psychological well being to not imagine your thoughts as you, or as a moral failing, but to instead recognize them for the fleeting things that they are, and to take that into account when making decisions. I think that the role of someone who is criticizing is also important in this exchange, as it takes two people to maintain a certain level of respect.
I think that it is a really interesting take to essentially separate us from our personalities and identify personality as a sort of performance that we do in the presence of others. I think that this is a good point, as I think we have all experienced a moment where we were misjudged because people did not fully understand who we were at the core level. Similarly, I agree with the idea that criticism is very rarely personal, and we should strive to remove our egos from the moments in which we face criticism. However, I would argue that my character traits that define my personality still exist when I’m alone, as being alone doesn’t change how I act, what my life experiences were, or what my core values were. Even if my personality itself is misconstrued by others, it is based on who I know myself to be and is therefore not solely performative.
Personally is something that I always struggled with because even though it's something that I really want like I really want paper criticism it is how you improve it's how you don't suck. You need to have a criticism otherwise you'll never get better. And I understand that however I still occasionally get hurt by criticism. I find this article very interested because I think it has the possibility to be very helpful I think the idea of disclosing who we are is or at least has the potential to be helpful however in the end it doesn't really say watch about criticism in a way that would be it all beneficial to me personally but I recognize that that is just me. Because the reason I got hurt by criticism is often because I've put a lot of effort into something for it to get torn apart or practically just insulted. But I hope this philosophy technique is helpful for others.
This article I feel is very pertinent to our career in theatre as well as our career within Carnegie’s School of Drama. I know that in the fall semester I felt that we weren’t so much getting negative feedback or even compliment sandwiches when we presented, particularly in Basic Design. I found this to be somewhat of a loss as I do not know what to do better or what things to take into consideration for the next project. I have a feeling that this is due to past years not having very good reactions to criticism. However I feel our class is very receptive compared to others and in general we seem to be happier and healthier than the past few DP classes. Despite the strategies that this article highlights, it also states that it takes practice, which I whole heartedly agree with. I think that one must get past the mental block of needing other assurance in order to be proud of their own work.
The Carnegie Mellon Drama program kind of trains its students to handle criticism, as it is an integral part of the industry, and collaboration as a whole. LOTS therapy has helped me realize that self worth doesn’t lie in comparison or critique, and these are simply tools to help us grow and be the best versions of ourselves. That is, if the criticism or critique is constructive and helpful. It is important to keep in mind that no matter how hard we try to be perceived a certain way, we cannot control what other people think of us, and therefore should just continue to do the best we can for OURSELVES. Reading this article reminded me what it means to be a good collaborator, and what a solid note or critique looks alike and how it can be best presented. This is something I have kept in mind and will continue to keep in mind as I continue in this career.
11 comments:
I’ve always thought that character traits and skills are a part of personality, so it’s interesting to hear this take that personality isn’t something that can be exactly defined for any given person. However I see how there is something safe in this idea: you can’t take criticisms too personally, because they do not and cannot comment on who you are, but only what you are. The main idea seems to be not to worry because no one is seeing the full picture and is only assessing your external actions and indicators. I will say though, this probably isn’t much help for people pleasers who wants people to see the full picture and to be able to influence others’ opinion of their personality. It sort of just brings us back full circle to the reminder that feedback is about your work and your actions, not about you as a person, and does not reflect people’s opinion of you or your personality. Which is true, to be fair.
This was an interesting read but I also feel like it was just rephrasing “Don’t take people’s criticism personally.” I get the concept of separating the “who” from the “what” as the article puts it in receiving criticism as to avoid mixing public perception with perception of oneself. However, in the end the advice of this philosophical breakthrough is to just remember when people in the workplace give criticism, it’s about what the work you produced and how it’s performing, not about you as a person and how you are performing–unless their criticism was bluntly an attack. I think the article made it clear that people’s opinions of us don’t matter unless we make them matter–and that while we can’t control what others think about us and what we do, we can control who to let into our psyche and coerce us to change.
I think one of the most important skills we can learn if we want to succeed in the live entertainment industry is to take criticism in a productive way. Whether we are performers or working in technical theater we receive criticism and depending on where we are in the process we can receive huge amounts of criticism. I really liked how this article talked about personality traits as a tool to better receive criticism. I think the separation between who we are and what we are is really important. And I think it is something that I have never thought about. But I understand and could see why separating the two could be incredibly helpful and I am already thinking of situations that would have been better for me if I was able to do that. I think this is a skill that would take a long time to get good at. I would assume most people naturally take criticism personally and it takes a long time to get over that.
Criticism in the arts is an inevitability. And in theatre, an art form that is so collaborative that there are entire booklets crediting all the different people who worked on a project, criticism is always present. However I think it is important to note the difference between criticism and critique. Oftentimes I think people feel as though they are receiving criticism, aimed to tear someone down or devalue them or their work. However it may actually be critique, aimed to provide feedback to improve their work in progress or work in the future. I see this so often, where someone receives critique harshly, and begins to receive it as criticism against them as a person, instead of feedback about their work. It can often become a mindset issue, which if someone is not aware of, can easily be altered by a harsh tone. Though I’d love more to read an article about how to give better critique.
This article took a much different approach to the topic of receiving criticism than I thought it would. Although, to be honest I was not really sure what it was going to say. Especially since everyone receives criticism differently and some things hit differently than others depending on the person. The article makes the distinction that criticism is aimed at what you produced rather than who you personally are. That it is all based on what is seen externally which is often not accurate rather than being based on the sum of the whole. It’s about seeing the big picture instead of the small details that make up the picture. So, it seems to be reminding readers that it is not personal because no one is looking at you the person, they are looking at what they see. Which to me is not really a new perspective, since I grew up being told that a criticism is someone’s opinion of what you produced and has nothing to do with their opinion of you. So, to me the article was really just using different words to describe the same attitude that has always been taken. However, I do think it is an important article to take into account because especially in this industry the ability to take criticism is crucial.
I really enjoyed this article because it took such a personal approach, having the author speak in the first person and therefore making the readers not feel like they are crazy for having a hard time taking criticism. This is something I used to struggle with a lot, but have gotten better at over time. I think there will always be people who will criticize you in a more personal way, but those people suck and it just is what it is. Of course criticism will always seem personal whether you're giving it or receiving it, but I've found that it's helpful to just try and hear them out and understand why the criticism is happening. Whether you've done something great or made a mistake, it's just about understanding why your actions worked or didnt work and try to expand on that. At the same time, something I have come to appreciate is knowing that I will always try my best at what I'm doing and if someone has a problem with something I've done, I will work on it moving forward. There's no reason to be too hard on yourself because everyone makes mistakes, so if it wasn't a life-threatening mistake then it's easier to avoid going forward.
I really like philosophy, in particular the work of Hannah Arendt when she wrote about complacency in bad power structures. I think that her tenant of not taking things someone says about your work as a personal attack against your character is very important for our line of work, as people will receive a lot of feedback over the design process, some liked, and some not. It's important to be able to emotionally regulate yourself when you're making tough decisions, and not become too attached to your thoughts. It's important for psychological well being to not imagine your thoughts as you, or as a moral failing, but to instead recognize them for the fleeting things that they are, and to take that into account when making decisions. I think that the role of someone who is criticizing is also important in this exchange, as it takes two people to maintain a certain level of respect.
I think that it is a really interesting take to essentially separate us from our personalities and identify personality as a sort of performance that we do in the presence of others. I think that this is a good point, as I think we have all experienced a moment where we were misjudged because people did not fully understand who we were at the core level. Similarly, I agree with the idea that criticism is very rarely personal, and we should strive to remove our egos from the moments in which we face criticism. However, I would argue that my character traits that define my personality still exist when I’m alone, as being alone doesn’t change how I act, what my life experiences were, or what my core values were. Even if my personality itself is misconstrued by others, it is based on who I know myself to be and is therefore not solely performative.
Personally is something that I always struggled with because even though it's something that I really want like I really want paper criticism it is how you improve it's how you don't suck. You need to have a criticism otherwise you'll never get better. And I understand that however I still occasionally get hurt by criticism. I find this article very interested because I think it has the possibility to be very helpful I think the idea of disclosing who we are is or at least has the potential to be helpful however in the end it doesn't really say watch about criticism in a way that would be it all beneficial to me personally but I recognize that that is just me. Because the reason I got hurt by criticism is often because I've put a lot of effort into something for it to get torn apart or practically just insulted. But I hope this philosophy technique is helpful for others.
This article I feel is very pertinent to our career in theatre as well as our career within Carnegie’s School of Drama. I know that in the fall semester I felt that we weren’t so much getting negative feedback or even compliment sandwiches when we presented, particularly in Basic Design. I found this to be somewhat of a loss as I do not know what to do better or what things to take into consideration for the next project. I have a feeling that this is due to past years not having very good reactions to criticism. However I feel our class is very receptive compared to others and in general we seem to be happier and healthier than the past few DP classes. Despite the strategies that this article highlights, it also states that it takes practice, which I whole heartedly agree with. I think that one must get past the mental block of needing other assurance in order to be proud of their own work.
The Carnegie Mellon Drama program kind of trains its students to handle criticism, as it is an integral part of the industry, and collaboration as a whole. LOTS therapy has helped me realize that self worth doesn’t lie in comparison or critique, and these are simply tools to help us grow and be the best versions of ourselves. That is, if the criticism or critique is constructive and helpful. It is important to keep in mind that no matter how hard we try to be perceived a certain way, we cannot control what other people think of us, and therefore should just continue to do the best we can for OURSELVES. Reading this article reminded me what it means to be a good collaborator, and what a solid note or critique looks alike and how it can be best presented. This is something I have kept in mind and will continue to keep in mind as I continue in this career.
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