Did you know that 87% of statistics are made up on the spot? With that disclaimer out of the way, I shall proceed…
A friend of mine teaches classes at a massage school. She’s been teaching classes for years and years, and recently got one poor evaluation from one student. She was NOT a happy camper.
And I could relate, because the more people I meet, and the more events I do, the more feedback I get – both positive and negative. The negative always seems more powerful.
With the hopes of providing a little perspective, I shared with her a statistic I made up to help me deal with some of the negativity. It goes like this: if you are doing your work with integrity –
- 5% of all people are going to not like you – that’s just the way it goes.
- When you know 100 people, that percentage equals 5 people. When you have access to 1000 people, that’s 50 people. When you get exposure to 2000 people, that’s 100 people.
- Realize that even though the number changes, the percentage doesn’t, and accept it.
So as you are succeeding, expanding your reach, and increasing your exposure – more people will not like you. It’s a fact. But remember…
- For every 5 who don’t like you, 95 appreciate you. Listen to them instead.
- People who aim low, and have few successes have very few critics, because no one has ever heard of them.
- Critics can be our best teachers. Remember not to cast them in the role of the villain: learn what you can from them, treat them with respect, and let them go.
Even though my statistic is 96.7% fictional, I hope you get my point!
Oh, the truth in this. Thanks Mary. When I first started getting evaluations, I’d make my husband go through them first. Now I have no attachment other than to learn from them. Great blogs posts. Keep them coming!
Lisa