Recently, an associate of mine shared some negative perceptions that they’d heard others express about me in the workplace. And while it’s never pleasant to hear that bad things are being said about you, I believe that my co-worker’s intent was to genuinely help me. Undoubtedly, receiving criticism can be very challenging, and I must admit that I’ve cycled through a range of emotions. Part of me wants to make the case that these folks really haven’t taken the time to get to know me, and part of me wants to explain that I’ve been placed in a somewhat precarious job position in recent years. Yet another part wants to be offended, and to vehemently deny that there is any truth to these viewpoints. But ultimately, all of those actions would prove to be counterproductive.
When I take a deep breath, and try to look at things objectively, I can understand how someone, who has only seen me in my current job context, might draw some negative conclusions about me, and my work ethic. Though I don’t feel that these are representative of who I really am, or what I’m capable of, I do have to accept some ownership of the fact that my handling of this situation has not been sufficient to quell these unflattering perceptions. I guess I have to ask myself, “Can I do more?” or “Can I do better?” And the answer to those questions is “Yes, I can.” So instead of defending, accusing, rationalizing, stewing, or complaining, I just need to step up, and prove these criticisms to be invalid.
These folks are not particularly interested in my almost 25 years of performance at the plant, they want to know what I did yesterday, and what I’m going to do for them tomorrow. Generally, that’s how real life works.
Bjcorbin's Blog 
For sure. Every day of life is an opportunity to prove our critics wrong, therefore, even our critics provide us a benefit.
Amen – God bless you Steve!