We all have people who may not appreciate our finer points.  We sometimes give them too much space in our brains and they're not even paying rent!  One way to diffuse criticism is to be honest and embrace it with good humor.  We all have faults including the critics.

The Greek philosopher Epictetus once said, "If you hear that someone is speaking ill of you, instead of trying to defend yourself you should say: "He obviously does not know me very well, since there are so many other faults he could have mentioned."

And what about when we criticize others?   J.K. Lambert quipped, "Before you criticize people, you should walk a mile in their shoes. That way, when you criticize them, you're a mile away. And you have their shoes."

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