Even the most confident people sometimes struggle to take criticism—constructive or otherwise. It’s natural to want praise, especially after investing time and effort into something important. But rarely is anything perfect on the first try. And, while compliments feel nice, they don’t necessarily help us grow. Still, criticism can feel threatening. Our instincts often demand that we defend ourselves or shut down, especially in the face of direct or unexpected feedback. While this reaction is entirely human because our brains view criticism as potential danger, learning where we went wrong is the only way to improve. This makes constructive...