Why does criticism hurt so much? The truth will surprise you.

Added: 2026-05-19

[00:00:00]Right?

[00:00:02]When I say, "Ladies and gentlemen, you are an orange."

[00:00:07]Who would take this personally?

[00:00:09]No one, right? Why not?

[00:00:12]Because nothing in you believes that you are in fact an orange. An orange?

[00:00:18]Unless of course that you are a ginger and you feel bad because of that.

[00:00:22]Which is luckily not the case with me.

[00:00:24]But but when someone says, "Frederik, you are so selfish."

[00:00:30]Ouch, I do take it personally.

[00:00:33]And it only happens because I know there is some truth in it.

[00:00:38]To be honest, I'm aware of the fact that I do not always take into account other people's needs.

[00:00:46]When you are being criticized and it hurts, chances are big that this is rooted in your childhood.

[00:00:56]Maybe as a child you were never good enough.

[00:01:00]When you came home with a nine out of 10, they said, "Hey, Anna, why not a 10?"

[00:01:05]You see?

[00:01:06]You can only take things personally if it somehow touches a raw nerve.

[00:01:13]And that's the moment to give yourself some empathy.