Haters Gonna Hate: 10 Ways to Use Haters As Fuel for Success You're unlikely to be both wildly successful and wildly popular.
By John Rampton Edited by Dan Bova
Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.
Upon reaching a certain level of success, there will almost certainly be haters that enter your life. These are people that either fundamentally do not believe in your values or, more likely, are jealous of your accomplishments.
It is easy to let these people get you down. Understandably, we don't like when others are mean to us or don't like us. The reality, though, is that having these haters around us is almost inevitable, especially true upon achieving success. Therefore, the options are to either let them affect you or to take advantage of the situation.
Here are 10 ways that you can take advantage by using your haters as fuel for your success:
1. Understand that it means you are doing things right.
The emergence of haters is a signal that you have achieved a certain level of success. If you have not accomplished anything, then, almost certainly, nobody would be paying enough attention to give you criticism.
When there are people hating on you and what you do, then it is a sign that you are on the path toward success. Use this sign as a validation that you have been doing the right types of things.
Related: 5 Tactics to Master the Haters
2. Learn from their attitudes to be more accepting of others.
Seeing the ways in which people negatively treat you can teach you how to be more accepting of others. Instead of mimicking your haters' actions toward other people, do the opposite. You will develop an empathy for what it is like to receive flack.
Then, when you see others in similar boats as you, you can provide support and motivation. This will both help others and allow you to develop meaningful relationships with successful people.
Related: Why the Most Successful People Have the Most Haters
3. Use their criticism as a way to evaluate yourself.
Although a lot of criticism can be rooted in jealousy, there are times when certain criticisms are well-founded. You should not take the hate that you get to heart, but you should listen to what others have to say. At certain times, it can help you become a better person.
If you are working on a project that is environmentally harmful, for example, and you had not realized it, then listening to your haters can give you an important perspective to consider.
Others' opinions can help you find ways in which you are coming across poorly. Recognizing those ways will empower you to be better.
Related: The Sad Truth About Online Haters Is That They Are Just Losers
4. Be more humble.
You can use criticism as a lesson to take the high road. There will be situations when you can either fight back with others or you can do the right thing. You might be much more accomplished than those that are giving you a hard time.
That being said, you should be humble in your responses. There is no need to brag or try to validate yourself further. Instead, trust your own instinct and respond in a humble, respectful manner.
Related: 5 Ways to Cope With Online Haters
5. Use them to learn how to deal with conflict.
Dealing with your haters is also a great opportunity to better handle conflict. You could be put in challenging situations, with someone calling you out in a big way on social media or at an event.
Use these experiences as opportunities to learn to navigate conflict. Sometimes you can just take the high road but, in other situations, the response needs to be more nuanced.
Related: An Entrepreneur's List of 17 Techniques for Handling 'Haters'
6. Learn to control your anger.
Managing anger is also a great challenge in life. People might say things to you that invoke high levels of anger for a variety of reasons. Instead of lashing back, learn to respond calmly.
Take advantage of all the negative words and actions you might be victim to. If you can stay composed in these high-pressure or anxiety-provoking situations, then you will learn to control your anger. Doing so will pay off countless times throughout life.
Related: 5 Ways to Take the High Road When Haters Attack Your Reputation
7. Use them to learn how to ignore negative influences.
There are going to be many negative people in your life. Worrying about their opinions of you will only make you worse off. We cannot get everyone to like us. Therefore, haters serve as a great group to learn this lesson.
We feel even less of an urge to get them to like us compared to people we might know better. Learning to accept that not everyone is going to like you will enable you to focus your attention on the things that matter more. These include being present, challenges at hand, and working to become a better person.
Related: How to Turn Haters Into Raging Fans
8. Utilize them to become more independent thinking.
You might receive deeply personal insults that attack your beliefs or character. That said, you do not have to conform to anybody else's beliefs. Instead, you should be proud of what makes you unique.
Learning to love yourself for who you are will enable you to live a more independent-thinking life. That will lead to greater levels of satisfaction and accomplishment.
Related: 5 Steps to Deal With Haters When You're the Rock Star
9. Allow them to motivate you.
Others might tell you that your self employed business will never succeed or that you will never accomplish your goals. You can use these negative responses as motivation to succeed. You do not need to prove anything to anybody.
That said, if it will motivate you to know that upon your achievements, you will be able to quiet the haters, then take advantage of that, and use it as motivation to work harder.
Related: Proving The Haters Wrong: Don't Let Anybody Tell You 'No'
10. Appreciate your victories.
Haters can also be a great way to better appreciate your victories. Accomplishing something after many people told you that you would not be able to is a great feeling.
You should be proud of what you are able to achieve throughout your life. Your haters can serve as a reminder to appreciate these victories and be grateful for all the good you are fortunate to have.
