A few comments I came across on the HFW site past few month involved dealing with criticism and going out on a limb (going out on a limb is where the fruit is). Most of us want to push ourselves to tackle difficult goals and really put ourselves out there, but it's hard when people aren't always supportive. Or helpful. Or kind.
If you've faced some harsh critics this week, and it's affecting your ability to move forward, you may find these ideas helpful:
10 Ways to Deal with Harsh Criticism
1. Use it. If someone delivers criticism in a nasty or thoughtless way, you may tune out useful information that could help you get closer to your dreams. Put aside your feelings about the tone, and ask yourself, "How can I use this to improve?"
2. Put it in perspective. There are over 6 billion people in the world. Even though only a small percentage has had a chance to see your work, odds are the criticism came from a small percentage of that.
3. Acknowledge it isn't personal. If someone doesn't like what you're doing, it doesn't mean they don't like you. Their interpretation of your work reflects how they see themselves and the world. Everyone sees things differently. No matter what you do, you'll only please some of them.
4. If it is personal, realize that makes the criticism even less relevant. If someone doesn't like you as a person for whatever reason, their thoughts on your project proposal hold no weight. Your job, then, is to let them make their choice of not liking you and stop giving them power to hurt you.
5. Turn false criticism back on the critic. If someone says something harsh, seemingly without merit, realize it speaks more about them than you. Your work is not the problem, their attitude is.
6. Look for underlying pain. When someone is unnecessarily cruel, they generally want to get a rise out of someone, often as a way to deflect whatever pain they're carrying around. When you see the pain under someone's negativity, it helps turn your anger, frustration, and hurt into compassion and understanding for them.
7. Look at the critic as a child. Most children are honest to a fault, yet adults take their feedback with a grain of salt because there's much they don't understand about the world. The same can be said about your critic; he doesn't understand what you're trying to do, and therefore is missing some of the picture.
8. Define your audience. Whatever you're trying to accomplish, odds are it's meant to help a specific group of people. If you're building a web application for mothers, criticism from a 65-year old man carries a different weight than criticism from a mom.
9. Take the opportunity to develop a thicker skin. If you'd like to help many people, you'll have to listen to a lot of others who think you're doing a bad job. It's the nature of reaching a large audience, a portion will be unimpressed, no matter what you do.
10. Challenge yourself to keep going. One of the hardest parts of fielding criticism is letting go and moving forward. Don't let one person's negativity convince you to stop what you're doing. Whether you change your approach or keep doing the same thing, keep going. No matter what.
I hope those ten tips help you out with dealing with harsh criticisms. Marina knows these tips work well (thought she has not seen this list until now), for it's what has kept her going with making new lessons for you.
Print out this list and post it near your computer. You will find it very useful if you read it each day and commit it to memory. 
Begging
I like everyones comments so far... 
