Leo Babauta at ZenHabits has a story and some suggestions on how to do this. First, some things to consider doing when you handle criticism gracefully are; (1) Calm down, it's difficult to accomplish anything positive if you're in a bluster. (2) Ask yourself why the criticism was made, is the person trying to help, are they jealous, is it really a compliment in disguise? (3) Is there any validity to what they have to say? No matter how good or harsh the criticism is there some truth to it?
Next, how NOT to handle criticism; (1) Let criticism stop what you're doing. Think of all the successful people you know, do you think they've faced criticism before? Usually they're the ones who not only faced the most, but persevered through the most. (2) Get angry. Anger only increases the possibility of reacting in a negative way. Anger produces more anger, not only from you but from the person criticizing (kill 'em with kindness).
At the end of the day, you are what you do. And if you do amazing and positive things, don't let criticism keep from doing those things. No matter how difficult criticism can be, it often born from someone else trying to help, even if they don't communicate it very well. Search for the validity in criticism and you'll not only learn about yourself, but a lot about other people.
