The people who create the least are often the quickest to criticize those who create the most—but their negativity should never distract you from your purpose.
If you spend enough time creating content and putting it out into the world, eventually you will encounter trolls. Not thoughtful critics. Not people offering constructive feedback. I'm talking about the people who leave brutally negative comments for no apparent reason other than to tear someone else down.
Over the years, I've noticed something interesting. Whenever I receive one of these especially harsh comments, I often click on the profile of the person who left it. I want to see what kind of work they create themselves. More often than not, I discover exactly what I expected to find: nothing.
No videos. No music. No artwork. No writing. No projects. No evidence that they create anything at all.
I can't give exact statistics, but I'd estimate that around 85 percent of the time, my suspicion is confirmed. The people delivering the harshest criticism are often the people who never take the risk of creating something themselves.
That raises an interesting question: Why?
Why are people who create nothing often the most critical of those who create regularly?
One possibility is that they simply aren't happy people. Maybe they have no meaningful goals of their own. Maybe they lack a sense of purpose. Maybe they see someone building something, learning new skills, taking risks, and making progress, and it reminds them of what they aren't doing.
Rather than creating something themselves, they choose to criticize those who do.
For some, it almost becomes a hobby. They move from creator to creator, post to post, leaving negativity wherever they go. You can be certain that if they're doing it to you, they're doing it to others as well.
The important thing is not to let them derail your progress.
That's easier said than done. Sometimes negative comments hurt. If you've spent hours creating a video, writing an article, recording a song, designing artwork, or learning a new skill, criticism can feel personal. After all, you invested part of yourself into that work.
But you must keep your focus.
Continue improving your content.
Continue learning.
Continue creating.
Continue posting.
The creator who stays focused will always make more progress than the person sitting on the sidelines throwing rocks.
What's also interesting is that genuine content creators are rarely the ones leaving discouraging comments. Most people who regularly create understand how much work goes into the process. They know what it's like to struggle, to learn, to fail, and to improve. Because of that, they are often far more supportive.
If they offer criticism, it is usually constructive. If they comment at all, it is often encouragement.
Why?
Because they're busy creating their own work.
They're spending their time building instead of tearing down.
So the next time a troll leaves a cruel comment, remember this: their negativity says more about them than it does about you.
Keep your eyes on your goals.
Keep creating.
Keep improving.
And don't allow someone else's misery to become your own.
The best response to a troll has always been the same:
Create something else.
— Bob Craypoe
Founder of Craypoe Productions
