The other night I was watching, “My Next Guest Needs No Introduction,” with my husband and my mother-in-law. David Letterman is the host of this Netflix series and he was interviewing the incredibly talented Tina Fey. Most of what Miss Fey shared was funny, but she had one poignant comment that struck a chord with all of us.

She was talking about reviews and social media. She said, and I’m paraphrasing, “You can get 1,000 rave reviews, but it’s that one negative comment that we obsess over and allow to fester.” Why is that true for most people? I know it’s true for me. Why do we dismiss all the compliments and praise only to focus on the criticism? The math on this is important; we don’t want to dismiss criticism if it’s an opportunity for us to grow and improve. But if the numbers are skewed in our favor, why don’t we allow those good vibrations to penetrate our being. We tends to deflect the good and absorb the bad, but I think we have it all backwards.

Think of some compliments you have received recently—now take a moment to absorb them. Really let them in. The people who delivered those compliments to you were not simply trying to be nice, they were telling you the truth. Be like a sponge and absorb all of that truth. Let that goodness take over your mind for a while. What a change that will be, right? And as for the rare and infrequent criticism, take it with a grain of salt. Maybe there is some truth to it, but keep it in perspective. As a percentage, it’s quite small, so keep it as such. You’re amazing and I am going to keep reminding you of that so you don’t forget! OK?

With Gratitude,

Beth

P.S. Consider clicking on the hyperlink so you can double-down on accepting how amazing you are.