Criticisms are meant to help, not to hurt.

It took going through the Landmark Forum for me to realize that criticisms are not as evil as we all make them out to be. In the past, anytime someone would say something against what I wanted to hear, I immediately got angry. I would feel hurt, ashamed, and stupid...I took it to heart. I thought the person saying it was out to get me or WAS against me. I didn't understand that people who speak up do it because they care, not because they are being mean or insensitive. Of course, there is some "critique etiquete" (if there is such a thing) that should be involved and that is: One must be aware of how the message is being sent so the mistake that was made can be learned from.