Critics are everywhere. Rejection comes at you from so many angles you aren’t sure if you should duck, jump, or run. Sometimes it is a sniper attack. Other times it is a full frontal assault by a whole platton of these idiots.

Look, you’ll never be able to please them all. So please yourself. Do good work and move on. Firing back is a mistake. Get a bulletproof vest and a helmet, because it is dangerous out there. And you do need to put yourself in the line of fire if you want to get anywhere in the creative arts or have your innovations and ideas turned into something tangible.

Sometimes critics want to take shots at  you for reasons that have nothing to do with you personally, or with the quality of your work. Just knowing that helps ease the blow to the ego. It is really not a big deal unless you let it get to you.

It is important to take ‘constructive criticism’ and use it to improve. It is counterproductive to take plain old criticism to heart. What is the secret to dealing with unjust rejection? You could get angry, and I mean that in a good way. Let it fuel your inner desire to do better try harder and prove them wrong.

You could just let it go. If what you are  hearing is ‘I am not good enough’ get to you, then you will have a very tough time maintainting any kind of self worth. Rejection comes in many forms. It could be a canceled contract, a poor review on a performance, losing a key client or getting fired, to name a few. The point here is that it is almost never personal. It is part of the professional life of a creative person.

The bottom line is this: Don’t wait for others to validate your work. Give yourself approval and praise for doing good work, even if nobody else notices. Awards and accolades may or may not ever come your way – but you’re not doing this for awards, are you? If others approve, that’s just icing on the cake. Oh, I admit it is nice to have others tell  you your work is worthy. And it certainly increases how much you can charge for your work. Seek some feedback and, when it is positive, save those comments, write them down, and use them.

ACTION TIME

When others are trying to set limits on you, or to discourage you and drag you down, write them a nasty letter. I mean really nasty. Read it over out loud. Then flush it down the toilet – great symbolism, and let it go.