Having hates is an inevitable part of any bold journey – everyone who has made a difference in the world has had doubters and critics. As natural as haters might be, in the age of social media it’s become harder and hard to ignore them – and so we asked some brilliant creatives and entrepreneurs to tell us how they deal with haters.
Canden Byrd
The topic of mental health is a tricky one. In 2019, when I started my podcast (and really when I started talking about my mental health in general), there was still such a strong, negative stigma attached to the words “anxiety,” “panic attack,” and “depression.” I hit a point in my mental health journey where I had run out of ideas to take the power out of those words (personally, for myself). Read more>>
Jade Patteri
You have to purely block out the noise! There are so many people with an opinion on your life, career, look, morals, decisions… and at the end of the day you need to focus on you, not others opinions. I often times remind myself if I ever get a rude or hateful comment, that the person on the other side of the screen (most of the time) doesn’t know me at all. How can you give input on a subject you know nothing about? Read more>>
Raul Ramirez
We live in a world that isn’t black and white. A hater or troll online could have a varitey of motivations. I have come to realize that none of the hate should be taken personally. It is not a true assessment of who I truly am. As long as I keep striving to be the best person that I can be, then I konw that none of what the haters say is true. Read more>>
Katie Bowman
Everyone I look up to in life went against the wave. I believe that the most powerful influences in the world are a lot of the time hated by many people because they chose to speak their minds and do what they believe is the right thing. It can be a hard line to walk but if that means I get to be more authentically myself than I rather appeal to that and be admirer later than live a life being fake and people pleasing.
Alana Dzurek
I’m an eternal optimist, I focus on the stories of those Entrepreneurs who came before me, I want to know about their experiences and the obstacles they overcame. The haters and nay-sayers are simply a distraction. Hating someone is like drinking poison and waiting for the other person to die. I can’t focus on the negativity of others, it’s not in my nature, and it takes away. Read more>>
Julio Aguilar
I actually enjoy being around nay-sayers and haters. You can learn a lot from them and use their skeptiscism to fuel your drive to succeed. In a sense, having skeptics around you is sometimes the fuel you need to perserveer, not only proving them wrong but also proving yourself right. Keep the course, doubts will arise but address each problem one at a time and move on. Read more>>
Audrey Pray Jr.
I find that nay-sayers can sometimes be our biggest motivators – because we want to prove them wrong so bad! And so in this way, they actually become the reason why setting out to achieve something on an uncharted path becomes more than just about us. Read more>>
Luz Galindo
Every time I encounter a negative person or someone who just seems to wish me bad luck, I just take it as a challenge to work harder and prove them wrong. Read more>>
Jessica Bennett
“Well, facing criticism and nay-sayers is an inevitable part of pursuing any passion or dream. I’ve learned to view it as a natural element of the journey rather than a roadblock. It’s essential to understand that not everyone will resonate with your choices, and that’s perfectly okay. What keeps me going is my unwavering belief in my vision and the passion that fuels my endeavors. Read more>>
Sarah Castillo
One of the first things I was told when I started preserving breastmilk for my Keepsake Jewelry business was the words “that’s gross”. This was the beginning of a very difficult, uphill battle for me. I thought developing my skill as a jewelry artist would be the hard part, or navigating pricing or growing a social media following, or even dealing with clients! Read more>>
Ashley Afdahl
I realized in life, no matter who you are or what you are pursuing, people will always have a say about it. The unfortunate part about humanity is that people selfishly don’t want to see others do better than them. Now not everyone is like that but a good majority are. 99% of the time it’s not you that’s doing something wrong to receive hate, it’s often the person giving hate dealing with their own personal problems and reflecting it on you. Read more>>
Kiya Ricks
Honestly, if you know you’re the sh**, you wake up everyday with an over all goal in mind and you don’t let anything stop you. Whether it be weight loss, sales, work place, etc, you honestly have to persist. This world is full of nay sayers, and haters for days! It doesn’t matter what anyone says negatively about you, it’s about knowing how to take that negative and turn it into a positive and keep it pushing. Read more>>
Mimi Benfield
I simply focus on doing what makes me happy and hope I’ll be an inspiration instead of an intimidation. I know if someone has an issue with me they, more than likely, have personal issues they’re projecting onto others. Read more>>
Shaneé DeWitt
There is a story I love and often recall called “The Donkey the Farmer and the Well.” This story is about an old Donkey who fell in a well and was unable to get out; the farmer was also unable to help the donkey out. The farmer decided to fill the well and cover the donkey in it. The farmer began shoveling dirt into the well and on the donkey then called his friends to come over and help. Read more>>
Ziya Kalidasa
The fire inside of me burns brighter than the fire around me. If anything, haters, naysayers, and the obstacles I face in general are like fuel to my fire. It’s like that old Hatebreed lyric, “doubt me, hate me, you are the inspiration I need.” Read more>>
Robenson Lauvince
When you dedicate yourself to do something positive, it is inevitable to encounter criticism. The saying goes, if no one is talking about what you’re doing, you might not be doing it right. That’s why I focus on my work, drawing motivation from those who express negativity and criticism, as it signifies that I am on the right path. I choose to work quietly and let my work speak for itself. Read more>>
Felicia Howe
This is an interesting question because it’s a constant test of being human. We are constantly hearing about positive energy and aligning ourselves with higher energy and people that only build us up. And trust me I believe those are honorable standards. However, the world is constantly testing us to find balance and harmony within. Read more>>
Lauren DeCarli-Till
As a small business owner, you must wear many hats and play various roles in your company. I don’t have a sales or customer service background but I’ve had to be our salesperson and customer service representative which means you hear all of the good and all of teh bad. It’s hard not to take the negative feedback or complaints from customers personally when you’re the founder and it can get you down. Read more>>
Tyler Farnham
Focusing on journaling and listening to my music always made me feel like I was on the right path, no matter what anyone would tell me. It’s been 12 years since I made the decision to go against the societal norms of the USA, still not regretting a thing. Once coming back to America after 11 years of living in Asia I have a new perspective on life and how I’d like to live it. Although, its too foreign, too scary, too uncomfortable and too uncertain for most, its the only way I can see fit. Read more>>
Saundeurs Shiloff
They say “if you’ve got haters you’re doing something right” Not always. Some people are not going to like your music, and thats fine. Make music for you, because that doesn’t even matter anymore on a large format professional scale, with the rise of everyones sounds being made for purchase, high ranking engineers for hire, and even ghost producers to create insanely big music for you, the only thing you cannot buy is respect and being loved by your community. Read more>>
Shar Michele
In everything you do there will be people with opinions. Some people will love my work and what I do, others will criticize and ridicule. But I am a strong believer in God and I know what was spoken to me so I press forward knowing that I’m walking in my purpose. Read more>>
Richard Young
I’m cursed. I am so chronically mad at the stupid waste in the U.S. healthcare system, the complete lack of support for primary care, and the terrible burden of the administrative costs on U.S. primary care. I had to do something to create a solution. Read more>>
Isiah Barnes
The main way I use my haters is for fuel to become the person they always told me I couldn’t. In my field of filmmaking; there’s substantially more doubt and negativity than there are positive reinforcement. And that’s never more present than in the beginning of your journey as an artist. Everyone and there mom thinks you’re absolutely crazy, and what makes you so special is what you get a lot. Read more>>
Réka Vicsacsán
I was called stubborn several times in my life. However, I like to call it persistence. Persistence, I believe, is an inner strength that comes with practice and self-knowledge. I was not always a persistent person and I can not say that I am in every aspect of my life to this day. But when it comes to people, situations, knowledge, etc. that I perceive as important, worthy of attention and effort, I do input the energy and time necessary to achieve certain goals. Read more>>
Maggie Wilson
I look back on experiences where I faced negativity or criticism and see them as opportunities for growth. As a creative, it’s always in the back of your mind, “What if everyone just hates this.” and that scarcity mindset can really have an effect on how much or little you share due to being afraid of the haters. I’ve come to learn there are creators and haters, and the haters are usually ones who not creating themselves so they lash out. Read more>>
Tamara Davie
I have experience constant scrutiny for serving the LGBTQIA+ Community as well as the Non-Monogamous Community both in person as well as on social media. It is very disappointing that this day in age where same sex marriage is legal, people are still so closed minded and full of hate and judgmental views. Despite the scrutiny, I continue to advocate for Marriage Equality for all because it is my passion. Nothing worth doing is easy so I will never stop serving the Queer and Polyam Community! Read more>>
Wayne Butler
My whole life I always cared what people thought about me and I wanted to be liked by everyone. I realized that this is not important and not everyone is going to like you. Because of me being so nice and naive I was also burned many times in friendship and in business. The best thing I ever did was stop caring about what others think about me and what I felt I needed to prove to them. I started focusing on proving things to myself and doing things that made me happy. Read more>>
Lauren Manaker
Haters and nay-sayers are entitled to their opinions. But unless a person is in my tight circle of people who I choose to surround myself with, I know that their opinions don’t have any bearing on my day-to-day. I remind myself that I am not for everyone, and that is ok. Read more>>
Tom Whalen
Haters actually fuel me! Haters bring out the competitive beast inside of me and make me strive for better. I never let the negative opinions of others change the way I see myself because I see every second of my life to be a miracle. We should all know that our very existence is a miracle. The fact that every single one of our ancestors survived this harsh world long enough to pop out a kid and keep our bloodline going is actually unbelievable. We are all a gift from God. Read more>>
