Why I take 'Rejection and Praise' With A Grain of Salt

When the Internet was young and I was younger I was in the process of becoming a published author. The very first article I published up on the web, within an hour, resulted in me receiving the worst criticism of my life from a woman with her PH.D. in Psychology. She went on and on for two pages essentially telling me with big words what an asshole I was and that I didn't know my butt from a hole in the ground when it came to powerful women, the subject of my article. 

I must admit her criticism almost destroyed my ambition to be a published author. And it would have if it had not been for a second letter I received, five minutes later, from a nationally known woman author. This published author praised my article about powerful women as the very best article she had ever read on the subject. 

I was baffled as to how the same article could elicit high praise on one hand and scathing criticism on the other. It was then I realized that everyone sees what they read through the eyes of their life experiences (both good and bad) therefore what one person sees as trash another person will see as a priceless treasure. 

Every since that time I have taken both rejection and praise with a grain of salt.  I write to impress only one person and that person is me. If I give myself high praise for something I wrote that is all the praise I need even if a thousand other people rip my article to shreds. In the end I learned if I have a good opinion of myself and what I do, the negative opinions of others will not throw me out of balance or off my stride.

In life, the right attitudes about negative events make us stronger whereas the wrong attitudes about negative events makes us weaker. I choose to always be inspired and empowered by negative events rather than allowing negative events to discourage or depress me in any way.