Seneca: We are infuriated at being reproved, either by…

Criticism stings because it threatens the image we have of ourselves. So we add a second mistake to the first: we become defensive, sarcastic, or impossible to correct. Yet no one gets through life without breaking a rule, missing a standard, or hurting someone. The mature response is not to insist that every criticism is fair. It is to make room for the possibility that it contains something useful. When feedback comes, do not answer immediately. Ask, “What specifically should I have done differently?” If the criticism is unfair, calm questions expose that better than outrage does. If it is fair, you have gained a chance to improve. Today, practice receiving one correction without explaining yourself in the first sentence. Let the information land. Your ability to be corrected is not weakness; it is one of the clearest signs of strength.