??Feedback that Stings: how to keep your confidence after harsh criticism.

"I ran out of there crying,” a client shared??

She had just gone through a training session, and the feedback was brutal. Supposedly “constructive,” but it felt more like an attack.

Ever been through something similar?

"It made me feel incapable. Now, I second-guess everything I do. I feel like everyone is watching, waiting for me to mess up. A part of me doesn’t even want to go back to work. How do I shake this off?"

I could relate.

If I had a dollar for every time someone told me I wasn’t qualified, that I didn’t have what it takes, or that if I were truly capable, I would have succeeded already—I’d be rich.

"This sucks. It’s painful. I’ve been there. You’ll get through it.

Not everyone knows how to give good feedback or wishes you well.

That’s just normal life."

The truth about self-doubt?

The world will hand you every single insecurity you already have—spoken out loud, by other people.

And sometimes, the criticism will be even valid. There will always be areas to improve.

But here’s your silver lining:

No one else gets to decide what you’re capable of.

No one knows what you can become.

No one else has a say in your destiny.

That’s up to you.

What Ice Baths Taught Me About Handling Feedback

I did an ice bath today!??

I felt I needed that inner strength.

Cold water exposure taught me something: Instead of panicking and letting emotions take over, you can stay in it. You can breathe. You can endure pain without running away.

And you even get stronger.

The pain won’t be as painful.

Harsh feedback is like an icy bath—it’s shocking, it stings, and your first instinct is to escape. But if you can sit with it, resist the urge to run, and let yourself process it rationally, something powerful happens:

The pain loses its grip on you.

It loses its power.

Over time, you build resilience.

You get stronger.

And while criticism never becomes pleasant, it stops having the power to break you. You might even learn to laugh at it. What else is new???

So, if you want to be tough in the boardroom, it helps to practice enduring pain—whether in a freezing bath or pushing yourself while running.

Both teach you to stay in the discomfort, learn from it, and come out stronger, making decisions and taking actions that move you further in life.

Coach Angela

Helping Your Best Grow Thicker Skin