Ridley Scott displays a 40-year-old negative review on his wall, stating, "I was actually hurt."

Over the course of his career, Ridley Scott, now 87 years old, has experienced a great deal of success.

Despite receiving praise for his films grossing billions at the box office and winning nine Academy Awards, including Best Picture for "Gladiator," it is the negative reviews that have had the most impact on Scott.

In his office, Scott displays a negative review of "Blade Runner" from renowned film critic Pauline Kael.

In the New Yorker, Scott likened Kael's review of Blade Runner to industrial espionage because it destroyed the product before it was released.

"Even at 44, I could still get hurt. I wrote back to the New Yorker, 'If you hate me that much, just don't print anything. Ignore me. But don't spend four and a half pages of destruction.'"

Despite not performing well at the box office when it was first released, "Blade Runner" is now widely regarded as one of the greatest science fiction films of all time. Even after more than 40 years and 26 films, Pauline Kael's review of the film still resonates with the octogenarian director.

"That's still in my office today," he said. "It taught me that there's only one critic that matters, and that's you."

Indeed, Scott had the correct approach to rejection, according to psychologists.

According to Houston-based psychologist Jenny Wang, who spoke to CNBC Make It in 2018, the way you view failure will influence whether you continue to persevere and complete your tasks or whether you withdraw and surrender.

Scott stated that he ceased reading reviews, regardless of their content, following his disappointment with Kael's reaction to "Blade Runner."

"He recently told the Hollywood Reporter that he hasn't read critiques since because good ones can make him arrogant and forgetful, while bad ones can make him depressed and debilitated."

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