Dr. Aziz argues that not every criticism deserves your attention. A stranger once called him the devil; he got a burger with his kids instead. Before taking feedback seriously, ask whether the person giving it has a pattern of this behavior, real knowledge of the subject, and actual evidence.
Where yeah, defensive is bad. Oh yeah, don't be defensive. Always be open. Always be open to feedback. Always everyone's like if you were walking down the street and some guy popped out from behind a dumpster and was like, "You're the devil." I should take in that feedback. That's really important. I got to sit with myself. Am I embodying demonic traits? Am I evil? Do you need to? He'd be like, "You know what?" I don't know what's going on with that dude. I'm gonna go get a burger with my kids, right? Just move on. And that could apply all the way up the chain, even to a colleague and a coworker. It's like, I gotta pull you aside. I gotta tell you something real important now. You might say, well, geez, can't be defensive. Gotta be open-minded. Maybe, maybe you gotta know where it's coming from. What are those person's patterns? What are they projecting on you? Do they know what they're talking about? Is there any actual evidence they're pointing to? Do you agree with it or not? There's a whole set of questions you can actually use to help yourself navigate it.
