It is often difficult to accept critique, yet we know that to accept critique is to help us improve in any of life's endeavors. As I think of critique, I am thinking about when it is easier to accept and act on and when it is more difficult.
Critique as part of a team effort
When teams work closely together with honesty towards a common goal, there's usually the kind of camaraderie that makes critique easier to take and act on. For example, say you and a team were working on a yard project, and you tilled the soil in such a way that it made it difficult for plants to grow. If the team is invested in the project together, and the critique is spoken with care and respect, it's likely you'll learn from that critique and right your ways to better support the team vision. So when critique is spoken with respect to team goals, it is often easier to take.
Critique shared with empathy, respect, and honesty
Kind, respectful critique is far easier to accept than heartless critique. Also, when critique is spoken with a bit of humor that can help too. How we critique makes a difference. Question driven critique can help too. For example, with the tilling example, one could say, "Hey, I learned about another way to till, do you want to hear about it?" Questions can open doors to betterment whereas strong, critical statements may close doors.
Critique as part of a trust relationship
When you have a trusting relationship with someone, it is much easier to accept their critique. That's because you know they have your best interests in mind and don't see critique as a way to accuse or defame you, but instead as a way to help you.
Critique with vision in mind
As an educator, it was always easier to critique or accept critique with a good result, goal, or vision in mind. For example, if you were working towards better writing or encouraging a young writer, the critique could always be voiced with that in mind. When critique is proposed similar to steps on a ladder in a way to lead to betterment, that critique is much better accepted.
Critique is difficult to accept, but to ignore that critical appraisal of your efforts is to obstruct potential growth, so it is in our best interests to humbly accept critique and use it to better the work and progress we aim for.