Criticism is something we all have to deal with. It is an important part of life that helps us improve and get better at what we do.

But criticism that comes from someone who doesn’t like you, who isn’t invested in you, who doesn’t give a flying fuck about you, is just plain old hate in disguise.

True criticism should come from a place of caring about you and wanting you to improve. Hate has no interest in helping you get better.

Criticism from your mentor, your helpful colleague, your friends, are from a place of love. It’s important to pay attention to their criticism (of course, provided they’re not entirely clueless about the field of work).

But criticism from randos on the internet? Safe to ignore.

People who use your app, and have criticism to offer – it’s gold. They’re invested in your app, you can see they use it, they want things to improve, so their life improves.

But when people who use your app once, not part of your ideal user group, or are strangers trying it out for no reason, come and criticise your app – you should ignore them.

They have nothing to gain from your improvement, they’re just looking for people to hate.

So the next time you receive harsh criticism, ask yourself – is this coming from a place or love or hate?