Treat Your Uninformed Critics Like a Toddler
There will always be people who will try to knock you down without knowing any better. Treat them like toddlers, says writer and entrepreneur Seth Godin: “Buy them a lollipop, smile and walk away.”
If you’re dealing with trolls on your blog, or a family member who sabotages you for selfish reasons, think of them as a two-year-old, Godin advises: For someone who just doesn’t know any better:
Most people don’t get too upset about what a two-year-old is telling them.
This is because we don’t believe that toddlers are particularly adept at the nuances of the world around them, and that they don’t have much empathy. Basically, however, it turns out that it is useless to be angry with a toddler because he will not change as a result (at least in a few years).
This does not mean that you should ignore all the criticism you receive. We can all learn from criticizing us others. But it will probably be obvious which of your critics are people who criticize just for the sake of criticism and who really mean your interests. For the former, wait for them to grow … or not.
Toddler Strategy | Seth Godin