The best

Choose anyone who’s at the top of their game. An athlete. A musician. A writer. An entrepreneur.

You will be able to find someone (perhaps many someones) who doesn’t like that person. They might even say things like, “I hate her,” or “Ugh. I can’t stand them.”

What does this tell us?

Some people just can’t be pleased. Some people are perpetual fault-finders. And no one is universally loved.

* * *

We have a bias toward the negative. Our ears and our hearts are fine-tuned to recognize criticism.

But let’s use our minds to shut that out. To ignore it. To recognize that some people don’t know us, they don’t care about us or where we’re headed, and their comments aren’t going to serve us well.

The very best of the best is not without harsh critics. That we ourselves are treated harshly by some is to be expected.

It’s not nice and it’s not fair … but it’s not going to keep us from doing our good work.

stephen