Have you turned a deaf ear to an important message in your life? Dr. Robin says that when someone's trying to tell us something in a direct and honest manner, we need to listen up so we don't miss out on an opportunity to grow. "Don't cheat yourself out of growing into what those loud and clear messages are in your life to teach you," she says.

Maybe it's feedback from your boss, advice from a friend or a thoughtful pointer from your spouse that you simply have chosen to ignore. Dr. Robin reminds us that we can be receptive to coaching and constructive criticism without compromising who we are. "That doesn't mean that you become a piece of clay and you somehow are molding yourself and remolding yourself into what someone else wants you to be," she says. Rather, Dr. Robin says that being open and receptive to the "loud and clear" messages in our lives means we can become a better worker, a better friend and a better spouse.

"You take that feedback, you filter it through your own system—your own thinking, your own mind—and then you make an informed, an empowered decision about how that feedback can help you to become your very best you," she says.