If you plan to make any significant changes in your life like starting a company, change careers, moving countries, then you are going to have naysayers and critics.

Sometimes the criticism and skepticism come from a place of love. Family members who are worried you will fail or who think you are taking on too much risk. They love you and want to protect you. Recognize that they care about you and factor their feedback into your decision. No man is an island.

There are also haters and pessimists. They will tell you all the reasons why you will fail and remind you of your past failures or wrong decisions. Haters and pessimists are projecting. They are great at pointing out other people’s shortcomings, but most of the time, they have never made a bold move in their own lives and are bitter. Listen to them, but don’t let them stop you.

Listen to the optimists and your supporters, but also remember that boosters don’t have skin in the game. If you fail, then you will probably fail alone.

If you are lucky, you will have a partner or spouse in your life who believes in you and loves you just the way you are. Listen to this person. They see the best in you and the worst in you. They also have skin in the game. If you succeed, then they succeed; if you fail, then they fail.

Learn to balance feedback and input like a stereo system. Ramp the information from people you trust and soften the armchair critics.

Photo by Markus Spiske on Unsplash