How To Stand Your Ground While Facing The Critics

What Do You Do When You’re Faced With Critics?

Fervour could be interpreted as enthusiasm, zeal, conviction or belief. To me, fervour is passion that glows and burns at heart. We all have dreams, and my fervent dream is to become a singer. Grammy award-winning singer/songwriter Taylor Swift, for example, is a great inspiration to me. From being a small-town country singer in Tennessee to becoming a global name, her rise to success is my motivation to pursue my dream.

Voice of the Critics

Despite being one of the top singers of today, Swift faced and still faces a lot of criticisms. Yet, she’s still down to earth and never forgets to appreciate the people who were instrumental in taking her to the top: her family and fans. She was surrounded by people who believed in her and who encouraged her to aim for the stars. In the pursuit of your dreams, you will come across many types of people along the journey. Some believe in you, some just don’t. As a student, most tend to discourage me because they feel that education is more important than chasing ‘trivial’ pursuits like singing.

Not forgetting, everyone has an opinion about your dream. I have gone from highs to lows, but I always try to find the courage to face them. I tell myself that everyone faces discouragements when pursuing his/her dreams.

A Different Perspective

Nevertheless, not all criticisms are bad. There are people who offer constructive feedback; encouraging and truthful comments. I have learnt to analyse the criticisms that come, looking at them with eyes of objectivity – not taking it personally – and doing my best to learn from my mistakes.
That’s the key in staying passionate about your dream – filtering which criticisms to focus on, and which to ignore.

The choice is yours: to move forward with optimism and persistence, or give up because of the obstacles you face.
Any obstacle can be overcome when your passion burns within you. There’s a sweet victory in being tenacious and proving the naysayers wrong.

Forget Not Your Beginnings

Of course, it’s also important to stay grounded. With each success, don’t forget your roots.
Always reflect on how far you’ve come and never forget your humble beginnings. That realisation makes you grateful and humble.

Where there is a will, there is a way. Don’t ever give up on your dreams without a fight, and if you really want something, you’ll find a way to reach your dreams.