Responding to Criticism, and Accepting the Way Things Are
Criticism is an unavoidable part of life. But even though we’re all going to be criticized from time to time, many of us spend much of our lives living in fear of criticism. Then, on the flip side, we’re all critics ourselves. We’ve all been in situations that aren’t quite what we want them to be – so we need to either do something to change them or accept them as they are.
On this episode, Dr. Rick Hanson and I focus on how we can get better at receiving and giving criticism, learn to accept what lies outside of our control, and avoid the “mood of complaint.”
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Key Topics:
0:00: Introduction and critiques of the podcast
4:45: Where we place our attention
8:00: Two kinds of complaint
8:55: Self-righteousness and identifying with our complaints
11:25: What do we hope to accomplish by complaining?
13:15: Sharing experience vs. asserting information
18:35: Developing relationships where your vulnerability is welcome
24:45: Projecting your unclear desires on other people
28:10: How to respond to negative feedback and manage your reactions
32:00: Releasing attachment to changing others and responding to trolls
39:00: Complaints come from emotional dissatisfaction
43:45: Recap
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