Once you have had a chance to calmly and objectively think about the criticism you have received, give yourself a few goals for improvement. These should be challenging, but completely within your grasp. Even more importantly, they should be sustainable the sorts of things you can achieve consistently. They should not be the sorts of things you can achieve once but will not be able to stick to this can leave you looking even worse than when you started.

☛ The best goals are ones with definite, quantifiable goals, not those focused on vague self-improvement. For instance, if you have been criticized for showing up late to work, it is much smarter to say to yourself, "I will go to bed at 11:00 PM and wake up at 7:00 AM every day so that I have plenty of time to make it to work," than it is to say, "I will try much harder to make it to work on time."