Actor Madhavan agrees to Dwayne Johnson’s advice to handle praise and criticism: ‘No one can break what they didn’t build’

Actor R Madhavan, who was last seen in the Tamil biographical drama GDN, has a striking social media presence. The actor often shares interesting updates on the platform, related to human-oriented tales, personal anecdotes, success stories and never-heard-before trivias to name a few. Recently, the Durandhar 2 star re-shared a video on his Instagram Stories, featuring million-dollar advice from The Rock, aka Dwayne Johnson himself. In the clip, the Fast & Furious star talked about how to handle praise and criticism, as both are inevitable parts of life.

Dwayne Johnson on praise and criticism

As per Dwayne Johnson, praise and criticism are like 2 sides of the same coin. They are unavoidable, regardless of whether a person is famous or not. As per Johnson, praise must be accepted graciously, especially when it comes after genuine hard work, but a person should not depend on it for validation. Appreciation can feel rewarding, but staying neutral towards it can maintain perspective when criticism follows.

Johnson further explained that he has learnt to distinguish between 2 types of criticism: one that comes from people genuinely engaging with his work and the other where people hurl tone-deaf comments merely to provoke or create negativity. For him, the difference lies in whether someone has made a sincere effort to understand or experience what the actor has created before offering their opinion.

Dwayne Johnson on how to handle praise and criticism

Johnson believes there are 2 useful ways to respond to genuine criticism. If a remark offers a perspective he had not considered before, he sees it as an opportunity to learn and improve his work. However, if he does not agree with the criticism, Johnson is equally comfortable acknowledging the person's POV without accepting it as his own. In both cases, he prefers to take the feedback in stride and move forward rather than dwell on it.

At the heart of Johnson’s message is the importance of finding a balanced mindset where praise and criticism are treated with equal composure. Instead of allowing compliments to inflate one's ego or negative opinions to undermine confidence, Johnson encourages people to learn from both and continue focusing on their own journey.

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Dwayne Johnson’s final advice

Johnson’s message carries a deeper meaning about resilience and ownership. He claims that the work, effort and experiences that a person builds over time cannot be undone by someone else's opinion. By continuing to create, grow and stay committed to the path they have chosen, an individual can ensure that external praise or criticism does not determine their sense of worth or direction.