Fear of Criticism
Learning What Fear of Criticism Is
Many people experience the fear of criticism or fearing that the others may give negative remarks about you or criticize you when you can’t meet their expectations. It can make you defensive and not accept what others say even if it is constructive criticism. During team meetings, you might be holding back whatever ideas you have in mind because you are afraid that they will dislike it. If you want to be sure if you are experiencing it, read the following symptoms of this fear. Self-consciousness that can be seen through body gestures such as shaking of the limbs.
- Lack of initiative such as not sharing your ideas when in group meetings and playing safe.
- Spending more than your income to make others see that you are extravagant and to avoid criticisms about your lifestyle.
- Lack of ambition or not pursuing your dreams when others criticize it and accepting defeat.
If you have the following symptoms, then you have this kind of fear. What can be advised to you is that not all criticisms are wrong. Not all people give criticisms to make you feel down. Others criticize you so that you may grow and change for the better. Look at criticisms in a positive way.
According to Napoleon Hill [1] the major symptoms of the fear of criticism are:
- Nervousness, timidity, awkward movement of the hands and limbs, shifting of the eyes.
- Lack of voice control, nervousness in the presence of others, a poor posture of body and poor memory.
- Lacking in the firmness of decision, personal charm, and ability to express opinions.
- Inferiority complex. Covering up your inferiority feelings with the habit of constantly looking for approval and trying to impress others. Imitating others in dress, speech and manners. Speaking with excessive pride about imaginary achievements.
- Failure to embrace opportunities for self-advancement, fear to express opinions, lack of confidence in one’s ideas, giving evasive answers to questions asked by superiors, hesitancy of manner and speech, deceit in both words and deeds.
- Lack of ambition. Laziness (mental and physical), lack of assertiveness, slowness in reaching decisions. Easily influenced by others, the habit of criticizing others behind their backs and flattering them to their faces. The habit of accepting defeat without protest, quitting an undertaking when opposed by others, suspicious of other people without cause, lacking in tactfulness of manner and speech, unwillingness to accept the blame for mistakes.
Resources to Overcome Fear of Criticism
Self-hypnosis: With hypnosis you can learn how to handle critics in a healthy way, try now: Handling Criticism. When dealing with the fear of criticism you have to develop skills to cope with other people and your fears. :
- Skill # 1: Distinguish between useful and destructive criticism. Master your ability to respond appropriately when you are criticized negatively with Criticizers.
- Skill # 2: Develop the ability to give feedback to other people. Don’t Be Critical.
- Skill # 3: Learn now how to Deal With Difficult People. You can take the online class Dealing With Difficult People, and learn the basic approach to remain calm when dealing with bullies, slackers and energy vampires. You will also master situations that involve problematic personalities and gossiping, especially in a work environment.
- You can read excellent books that will help you overcome the fear of criticismReferences1. The Fear of Criticism. Retrieved June 2011, from http://www.psitek.net/pages/PsiTekTAGR37.html .References1. Anxiety Community. Retrieved June 2011, from http://www.anxietyhelp.org/glossary.html .
2. Fear of Intimacy – the wounded heart of co-dependency. Retrieved June 2011, from http://www.joy2meu.com/Fear_of_Intimacy.html .