Nick HutchisonFounder and CEO, BookThinkers

How do you handle criticism?

8 Jun 2023 · 1 min

Watch on YouTube

1:01

In this YouTube monologue, the speaker advises viewers on coping with criticism and the challenges of pushing against conventional norms. He emphasizes that humans are social animals and that going it alone can feel isolating because the brain seeks validation and predicts safety. To counteract this, he recommends finding like‑minded individuals, building a supportive community, and surrounding oneself with motivated peers—specifically suggesting living with five other people who are intensely pursuing their own goals. He explains that our brains are wired to imitate others, a mechanism that promotes social solidarity and increases survival odds. By immersing oneself in a network of high‑performing peers, one receives encouragement, accountability, and external validation, making it easier to persist despite criticism.

Chapters

find other people like you. I mean, we are social animals by nature, as Aristotle says. Going at it alone becomes really, really challenging because you feel like you're crazy, like you're wrong. And that's your brain trying to protect you, by the way. The job of your brain is to make predictions to keep you alive. And when you're the only one doing it, the brain goes, this ain't right. So when you're thinking about sort of pushing against conventional norms, find people who see the world the way you do. And then you build community, you build and facilitate a network of people. And while you get the outside voice, they're like, what are you doing? Don't do that. You get encouragement from the people around you. I read an article, the best advice I would give a 21-year-old is to live in a house with 5 other people who are going hard after their thing, that they have their 9 to 5 and their 5 to 9, because those people want to keep you grinding. Why is that? Because we are wired to imitate. It's our brain saying, hey, imitate these patterns and you're more likely to survive. And the book talks a lot about this idea that we act in concert in an effort to promote social solidarity. For people who are like, I don't want to do that, I