Do you?
I have a little secret for you: you just fear criticism. Nobody cares if you share your thoughts in clear, confident fashion save critics. Critics seeing themselves as less than or not worthy like to pile on confident, clear bloggers and often call these folks opinionated, or, something similar. Who cares? Nobody can control your blogging voice save you. But if you allow your fear of criticism to dominate your mind, then critics can get into your head.
A few moments ago I read a blogger on Twitter asking his following if he should be opinionated or not. Critics obviously got under his skin. I give little thought to criticism so blog as I live; I do me. However, most humanoids harbor a deep fear of criticism. Say someone comes along and sees your confidence and clarity through a filter of fear. Guess what? Said someone calls you opinionated, haughty and full of yourself. How do you feel? Does this bother you? Or do you feel as relaxed as a Sunday morning when someone calls you opinionated? Be honest. Your reaction, response or non-response mirrors your fears or lack thereof back to you.
Someone gets under your skin with the opinionated feedback; this means you fear criticism and lack confidence in self and writing. Someone can say anything about me and my blog and my writing style and I am largely peaceful and still, like a calm pond, no ripples flowing. But I had to face many deep fears concerning self-consciousness and criticism to reach this largely chill state. Took some time but wow, was it ever worth it. Be with the feelings. Be with the emotions. Eventually, the fear passes because as you feel it, you chip away at the fear. Perfect approach for dissolving any reaction to opinionated blogger feedback.
Do not fear to share your thoughts. Do not fear to speak your mind. No need to rally the troops if someone says you are way too opinionated; doing so suggests yes, you feared to get the feedback and still fear being labeled as such. If someone calls me opinionated, that person lacks self-esteem and does not believe in self because every single human being is opinionated, because we offer our opinions, all day long. Have you ever thought of it that way? I betcha you did not. We all offer opinionated takes on blogging or our niche or on anything and everything we speak about because all we say is an opinion and that makes us opinionated. Does that sound so bad? Now you know everybody is quite opinionated so no need to fear the label, going forward.
In my eBook:
6 Tips for Cutting Your Online Learning Curve Quickly
I lead off with a key lesson in a release so that you can move forward and cut your online learning curve. Release this fear of being labeled opinionated, strong-minded or whatever weak feedback a weak-minded person offers you. I recall seeing folks who had poor self-esteem often say folks of power and confidence were super opinionated in a negative, demeaning, light. As if it is bad to be confident, clear and bold, eh? Move away from folks who offer such feedback. Move toward confident, clear bloggers who speak their mind and blog with authority.
Readers tell me I blog with authority. I clearly say what I mean to say and never beat around the blogging bush. We need more bold, clear bloggers who write with authority. We need more clear, confident bloggers who fear not being criticized for 101 – or more – aspects of their writing. Nobody ever built a statue for a critic so I pay their worthless barbs no mind. I also know to distance myself from critics because critics are weak folks intent on sharing what they do not like in others, which is really what they do not like in self, since all criticism is a projection.