There will always be people who will try to bring you down without knowing any better. Treat them like toddlers, says author and entrepreneur Seth Godin: “Buy them a lollipop, smile and walk away.”
Photo by amseaman.
Whether you’re dealing with trolls on your blog or a family member who sabotages you for selfish reasons, think of them as you would a two-year old, Godin advises: someone who just doesn’t know any better:
Most people don’t get too upset at anything a two-year-old kid says to them.
That’s because we don’t believe that toddlers have a particularly good grasp on the nuances of the world, nor do they possess much in the way of empathy. Mostly, though, it turns out that getting mad at a toddler doesn’t do any good, because he’s not going to change as a result (not for a few years, anyway).
This is not to say that you should ignore all criticism you receive. We all can learn from others’ criticisms of us. But it will probably be obvious which of your critics are people who are criticising just for the sake of criticising and which actually have your best interests in mind. For the former, wait for them to grow up…or not.
The toddler strategy [Seth Godin]
Comments
2 responses to “Treat Your Uninformed Critics Like You Would A Toddler”
my critics are legion
Unfortunately this can be a problematic response in the workplace; I do my best to smile and be polite in the face of ridiculousness and uninformed critics… it’s often taken as being condescending and smug… sometimes you just can’t win.