CRITICISM

I hated criticism.

Funny, I’m in a career where criticism is important.

You need to take it, and move on.

Don’t be precious with your ideas.

Let them die.

But I take criticism in such a different way to others.

Due to my autism, it’s more impactful to me.

It can stress me out.

Make me lose confidence.

Throughout my life I have been criticised.

“Daniel don’t do that!”

“Daniel behave yourself!”

“Daniel thats wrong!”

So, choosing a career in advertising was like an act of self-harm.

But weighing the pros and the cons.

I just love advertising too much.

And anyone with autism can relate to this obsessive behaviour.

However, the criticism I didn’t enjoy wasn’t from creative directors.

But from my creative partner.

“No.”

“Can you think of something better.”

“It just doesn’t work.”

“I think this is better.”

“I just don’t like it.”

In teams I took it all too personally.

And I would get really upset.

I just didn’t like my ideas dying before I could present them.

And from someone who was supposed to be on my side.

No creative partner could deal with it.

No creative partner would understand.

They’ll just all assume I was a big prima donna.

And leave.

But…

I am in a team now.

There were bumps in our relationship.

Times where it was really tough.

But we stuck together.

It wasn’t that she stopped criticising my work.

But how criticism was dealt.

We found out I didn’t hate criticism.

It was just how I received it.

In the past the criticism was quite blunt.

My idea was dismissed, and that was that.

Now when my partner is critical, there is a reason and direction.

She meets me halfway.

And works with what I got, and adds to it.

My partner offers constructive criticism.

It’s giving the bad, with the good.

And I think that is a lesson for anyone dishing out criticism.

Sometimes you just need to give autism a steer in the right direction.

And not leave it dead and buried.

It just requires some critical love.

And a beer.