It can be a good sign when you are criticized.
I once read a story of about a high school football player who was getting yelled at by the head coach. He was getting dispirited, wondering if he was even any good at football if he was getting all this criticism. An assistant coach took him aside and told him the yelling was a good thing; if the coach didn’t believe the player could be a valuable part of the team, he wouldn’t bother trying to help him improve.
I had a similar experience at one of my early jobs. A lot of people were complaining about the company and what could be better, and I wondered what that meant for the company. A more experienced coworker (Hi Aaron Joseph!) took me aside and told me the complaining was a good sign because it meant that people still cared about the company and believed it had potential; if the complaining stopped, it would mean that people had given up and checked out.
When we receive critical feedback, we often hear the explicit message that there are gaps in our performance, ways in which we could improve.
But remember that the implicit message can be “I believe you can do better, and I want to help you get there.”
P.S. Unfortunately, this isn’t always the case. Some people criticize others as a way of externalizing their own shortcomings, always blaming others and never taking responsibility. This can particularly happen when there are power or privilege differentials. But if somebody we trust or respect is giving us feedback that seems harsh, it can be helpful to remember the implicit message I suggested above.