And that's not necessarily a bad thing.  Criticism becomes a problem when we take it to heart, when we take it personally.  When we see criticism as a reflection of who we are as human beings, then we face one of the biggest obstacles to living a full life there is.  Other human beings have found it fitting to criticize something that we've done, or to criticize us personally.

The way that criticism affects us, though, has very little to do with the criticism itself, the person or people who are criticizing us, or even the way that they're criticizing.  Criticism becomes an obstacle to our peace and happiness depending on the way that we take it, and nothing else.

My simplified perspective on criticism is this:  If someone's criticizing me to try to hurt me personally, then that person simply isn't worth me losing my peace of mind over what he or she has done.  If on the other hand someone is criticizing me sincerely and constructively, then he or she is trying to help me, and I should look upon their words and actions as help, and nothing else.  I should try to learn what they want to teach me with their criticism, and grow because of it.

I usually find that people who are criticizing don't know the whole story behind a certain action or process.  Have you ever taken someone to task for not completing a job or a task only to find out that something completely out of that person's control had happened, not allowing them to finish the job?  I've criticized my step-kids for treating certain people in ways that seemed poor to me, only to find out that there's much more to the relationships than the little bit that I saw.

If I'm being criticized constructively, I should be thankful that someone is taking the time to teach me, even if they may not do it in the most diplomatic ways possible.  The way I react to the criticism will determine how I feel about myself and how I relate to others who are with me, and it's important that I separate the criticism from myself, personally.

But what about the people who constantly criticize others, almost mercilessly?  In their cases, the criticism that they're dishing out is the obstacle to their full lives, as people learn very quickly to avoid them at all costs if they don't want to be criticized.  These people often don't understand why others don't want to be around them, even as they continue to criticize almost everything that they see.  I don't want to spend time with anyone who's going to belittle me and all that I do, so I'll stay away from them as much as I can.

These people also are teaching themselves never to be satisfied.  I've known quite a few people like this, too, who seem simply unable to let something be, just as it is.  It's either too cold, too hot, too blue, too short, too new or too old.  There always has to be something wrong, and they always have to point it out.  Can you imagine how sad life would be if you were never able to look at something beautiful, accept it for exactly what it is, and enjoy it?

So criticism can hurt both the receiver and the sender, keeping both from living life as fully as they possibly can.  At least the receiver has the option of taking the criticism in a healthy way and not lose his or her peace of mind over it.  If one is a constant sender of criticism, though, it's very possible that the person doesn't even recognize the way that he or she is sabotaging his or her ability to be accepting of life and the other human beings with whom we all share this planet.