I’ve found it helpful to remember that the thing being criticized was created by a past version of me.
A version that didn’t have all the information, a version that doesn’t have the skills and experience present me has, a version not even present in the conversation.
It’s a small way to create some distance between the work and your person.
Another thing to remember is to always ensure the criticism is against the work and against some shared measure of quality.
Too often criticism actually is personal (unintentionally or not) or the criticism is about a requirement that wasn’t shared at the time. Both of which are about the inexperience of the critic not you.
A version that didn’t have all the information, a version that doesn’t have the skills and experience present me has, a version not even present in the conversation.
It’s a small way to create some distance between the work and your person.
Another thing to remember is to always ensure the criticism is against the work and against some shared measure of quality.
Too often criticism actually is personal (unintentionally or not) or the criticism is about a requirement that wasn’t shared at the time. Both of which are about the inexperience of the critic not you.