Stones are thrown only at trees that bear fruit. I’m not sure that translated well but we have this Filipino saying that means that when you’re productive or successful, haters gonna hate.

The short explanation for this is that people are generally envious. They will celebrate your success as long as you AREN’T more successful than they are. It’s crab mentality at work. People just can’t help being envious.

Happily, you can use envy to become even more successful.

You Know You Have Arrived When You Have Haters

When you haven’t done anything to catch attention, you won’t have haters. This means that once you have haters, you have somehow achieved a level of success because people are now paying attention. Once you have haters, you know that you are at least on the path to success.

Do an Attitude Judo

You have to accept that it’s human nature to be unhappy with other people’s success. Turn it around and be respectful and kind to your critics. Try to be more understanding. It will at least confuse them. You, on the other hand, will become an expert at handling negative feedback.

Balance Your Perspective

While some criticism will be the product of envy, there will be those that are genuine and well-founded. Of course, you don’t have to let these get you down. Instead, use them to evaluate yourself. There’s probably something to learn of those criticisms.

Develop Humility

Having critics is a fine opportunity to become humble take the moral high ground. It’s tempting to prove your critics wrong by fighting them head on. But this is often counterproductive and a huge waste of time. By always responding humbly and respectfully, you become a better person compared to your critics.

An Exercise in Self-Control

Constantly having to deal with haters is a good chance to exercise your self-control. Mastering self-control takes practice and engaging with your critics while not stooping to name-calling and being angry is good practice.

Staying calm and composed while dealing with criticism is a skill worth developing.

Success becomes sweeter once you achieve something that your critics say can’t be done or shouldn’t be done.