There are two types of fighters in the world: those who know how to take a punch and keep getting up, and those who avoid getting punched. Which one are you? The fighter who is always getting punched learns from being resilient and determined. They can fail, but they continue to get back up and fight on. They may initially fail at their objective, but they quickly try again after learning the lessons on what causes the initial mistakes. On the other hand, an individual who avoids the punches, thinks methodically about how to overcome a difficult challenge. They have done their homework and their math and often are seen as “having a knack” at something or “it comes naturally” to that individual.
This answer to this question tends to also be associated with the debate over if someone is an optimist or a pessimist. The optimist believes in the best of a situation. They ignore the negative. They find trust in the grander scheme of things. The pessimist, however, doesn’t trust a situation until the finer details are figured out. Although they are successful at a given situation, they often look at the parts that they are unsuccessful in and try to tie those loose ends. This is why the optimist can take the punches and continue to get back up, while the pessimist intentionally avoids the punches.
However, there is a third option that all humans should strive toward: being a realist. The realist is the individual who gets punched and asks themselves: is it worth it? Is it worth continuously being knocked down? Only that individual can answer those questions, because the level of realism is different for everyone. The more optimistic that person is, the more likely they will answer that they will continue to get back up. Alternatively, the more pessimistic that person is, the less likely they will continue with that same challenge until they have discovered a reason why they should continue.
Yet, taking a punch means learning to take criticism. The ones who avoid the punches are the ones who become defensive over criticism, while the ones who can take the punch generally try to learn from the criticism. Life, however, generally doesn’t hold punches because you don’t want to be criticized. When we let down our defenses and learn to take criticism, learning happens. We take an honest look at the criticism and how it applies to ourselves. We ask ourselves: does it generally apply to us or is this just the emotions from the one who is criticism. Learning to take criticism means to either ignore it or to apply it.
Yet, critics be warned: for what you criticize, you too shall be held to that same standard.