Criticism.

Something I find very important in life is to give and get given criticism. Good and bad. It's also important to learn to give and take bad criticism. How do you turn bad criticism in to something good, and how are you suppose to create the best out of it? It's important to take it to you, and to think how you can turn it to something positive. It's important that someone tell you this, so you can improve.

I was in the gym today, and in the changing room I overheard a conversation between two older ladies, discussing a class they had just been to. One of them said she went to the class to keep her fitness up, but she didn't find it particularly good. She didn't like the exercises the guy keeping the class did, and she thought the time he kept each exercise was too long.

I was so close to jump in to the conversation (which obviously wouldn't have been right), and ask the lady to tell the instructor how she felt about the class. He might think he is keeping a perfectly great class, and that everyone is happy about it. Or, he might actually be holding a perfectly great class, its just that this lady might be doing some of the exercises wrong which makes her not like them, or it makes her uncomfortable? Either way: by not saying anything, nothing is going to change.

I love hearing that I do things right. Everyone does. But I also love hearing that I do things wrong (I learn from it), how I could improve, or simply just get any type of criticism so I get the opportunity to improve. The day I start working as a Personal Trainer, when I start holding classes, or maybe even the day I start my own business, I'm going to ask people for positive and negative feedback.

It's important to hear positive and negative criticism, to be able to grow; as a person, a brand and as a business.