How Criticism Can Change Your Life

Every challenge in our lives presents us with a choice point, an opportunity to make the most suitable decision possible for our highest good. We can choose to react, which creates war or we can choose conscious action, which creates peace.
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Dealing with criticism has been one of my most difficult challenges. A few weeks back I daringly wrote my first Huffington Post Blog titled, "We're Only Ever Being Walked Home, an Unexpected Journey from Head to Heart" which was an opportunity for me to embrace vulnerability, and bravely express my truth, from the depths of my heart and soul.

At first glance the social media "likes" and "shares" overwhelmed me with a sense of joy and the comments affirmed for me that I had made the right decision, however later I allowed my joy to be stolen by a series of not so positive comments making attacks on my ability as a writer, lack of attention to detail and grammar. I was now faced with what I call a choice point.

Every challenge in our lives presents us with a choice point, an opportunity to make the most suitable decision possible for our highest good. We can choose to react, which creates war or we can choose conscious action, which creates peace.

Taking a moment to lean back and become the observer of my thoughts, I quickly glimpsed at my past from a self-realized perspective. I could see the suffering that choosing to react created in my life and quickly brought myself back to the present moment contemplating the future I wanted to create. I decided to choose the path of conscious action and to use the criticism as an opportunity for growth.

Plato said "People are like dirt. They can either nourish you and help you grow as a person or they can stunt your growth and make you wilt and die."

I have chosen to see criticism as dirt and to utilize it to help me grow and stand in awe of the power just a few critics words have to change your thoughts and your life. I now live with a deeper understanding of myself, my need for approval and constant strive for perfectionism and see how I too can be a critic, both of myself and others and hence forth will be reminded to be kinder to myself and others and to remember these wise words spoken to me by a dear friend Kyle, "Language is a medium for understanding; not for perfection", and to live by them, not just in my writing but in my life.

"Life is a medium for understanding and growth, not for perfection..."

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