If one criticism outweighs ten compliments in your head, know that about yourself. Then do the math on purpose.

The scales are not level in anybody’s head, and one sharp comment will outweigh a week of kind ones without any effort. That is standard equipment rather than a defect in you. Knowing the tilt lets you correct for it deliberately, the way you steer slightly against a car that pulls right.

Keep a note on your phone with the good things people say, specific and dated. When a criticism lands and starts looping, read the note before you decide what it means about you. You are not dodging real feedback, only weighing it at its actual size.