When criticism stings, wait a day before you reply. Usually some of it was right, and you’ll see it better tomorrow.

Criticism stings before you can assess it. In the first hour you are defending yourself, so everything sounds like an attack and your reply will be about the feeling rather than the facts. A day later the accurate parts separate out from the unfair parts, and you can take one and leave the other. Almost no criticism is entirely right or entirely wrong.

Write the defensive reply and do not send it. Tomorrow, go back and underline the parts that were true, even if it is only one sentence. Respond to those and ignore the rest, or say nothing and just fix it.