Inspirational Stories of Overcoming Criticism and Achieving Success.

Inspirational Stories of Overcoming Criticism and Achieving Success.
Inspirational Stories of Overcoming Criticism and Achieving Success.


Albert Einstein

As a child, Albert Einstein had a great difficulty in speaking and reading due to his dyslexia. His teachers thought he was mentally retarded and anti social. One teacher even told his father, “No matter what he does, he will never amount to anything.” He was forced to take up a job as a clerk in a Swiss Patent office and it seemed the teacher’s prophecy was coming true. But in 1905, while still a clerk, he published a paper called the Special Theory of Relativity. The paper became so famous that by 1908, he was a considered a leading scientist and By 1921, he won the Nobel prize. By the time he died, he became the most famous scientist of all time and his name became synonymous with the word, genius. So, what happened to the critics who said he was mentally retarded and would never amount to anything? Well, nobody knows what happened to them, since nobody bothers to remember them!

Arnold Schwarzenegger

In the 70’s a then champion bodybuilder, Arnold Schwarzenegger decided that he wanted to pursue acting, he was told by Hollywood agents that his weird body, a weird accent and a weird name would never sell any movie tickets. They told him that the most he could be a freaky character actor, but never a leading man. Most people in this situation would have a very low sense of self worth after listening to negative statements and criticism over and over again.

But Schwarzenegger ignored their so called advice and kept focused at his dream. He first starred in smaller movies and over a period of time prove his worth enough to deliver his breakout hit Conan the Barbarian. He then became a much bigger star through the movie The Terminator. His name, his body and his accent, all of the things that the agents said were liabilities became his biggest strengths. Schwarzenegger became one of the most famous and highest paid movie stars of all time. Read his full incredible story here.

Oprah Winfrey

Around the same time Schwarzenegger was trying to establish himself as an actor, a young African American Woman named Oprah Winfrey was also trying to make a name for herself in Show business. She had suffered a rough childhood and sexual abuse in the past. She was actually raped several times while growing up. She had a baby who died just a few weeks after its birth. Despite these emotional setbacks, Oprah was determined to make it big. And yet, she was fired from her job as a news anchor because she was deemed unappealing and unfit for TV. Of course, the woman deemed unfit for TV went on to host one of the famous talk shows in history and revolutionized TV forever.


How to PRACTICALLY deal with Criticism

These stories are incredibly inspiring but how do you practically deal with Criticism in your daily life? Here are some Steps.


1) Postpone your reaction

Learn to postpone your reactions. Remember that for most of us , our first reaction is to become defensive or attack the person who attacked us. So before reacting, give it some time. If you receive an email that criticizes you, wait for some time before you reply instead of saying something you will regret. So give it some time so that you add a little thought to your initial reaction. Consequentially your response will be that of logic and not emotion.


2) Evaluate the source and the nature of Criticism

Who is it that has criticized you. Is it someone who is a stranger or someone who dislikes you for a personal reason unrelated to the issue at hand. Then walk away because this criticism is meaningless, it is simply a need for them to make themselves look important. Secondly evaluate if their criticism is pulling you down or whether they are offering constructive advice to push you up.

3) Does it come from someone who loves you?

See if the criticism comes from someone you love or they love you deeply. In most cases this criticism comes with the best of intentions of trying to improve you. The criticism itself maybe correct or incorrect depending on the facts of the situation. But do listen to this and evaluate it carefully.


4) See Criticism as an opportunity to improve.

Also see Criticism as an opportunity to improve. Sometimes criticism happens because people want to pull you down, but many times there is also at least an element of truth involved. It is certainly possible that criticism may sound mean or rude but we can always find some feedback that can help you improve.


5) If the Criticism is based on facts that you need to correct, do something about it.

Don’t just thank the critic and move on and go back to doing whatever you were already doing. Try hard to do your best to actually improve. A lot of times we all think that criticism is pointless and of no use to us, after all we can’t be wrong. But sometimes we maybe wrong and the critic maybe right. So evaluate if something is worth correcting and then correct it.


People will ridicule you whenever you attempt to do something new. They will try to convince you that you are going to be a failure when you feel it is worth staking your life on your goal. They will talk behind your back and call you crazy even when you are pursuing it diligently and results are showing slowly. But that is okay, if you believe in yourself and are determined to do whatever it takes to achieve your dream, the same people will eventually look up to you and call you a role model.

At the same time, sometimes Criticism maybe very useful. It helps us improve, especially when it comes from someone knowledgeable or someone close to us who wants us to succeed.

So the final lesson when it comes to criticism is this – Evaluate the nature and the source of criticism. What is based on your true weak points, try and correct it. What is false or motivated by factors other than cold hard facts, REJECT it. Keep moving on towards your goal with the same focus as before. You will Carve Your Destiny.

About the author.


If you have a motivation related problem you wish to solve in your personal life or in your organization, you can get in touch with Anubhav for one on one consulting or a motivational workshop at your organization. For queries please email anubhav101@gmail.comFacebook Profile:
