Feedback Thoughts
The first article that I read for this post was Silence the Critical Voices in Your Head. I realize I am one of the world's worst when it comes to accepting criticism and positive feedback. With criticism, I often feel defensive or it tears down my confidence. All situations are different, but sometimes a single person's comment can bounce around in my head for days or weeks. This is always worse when it comes from someone close to me. A lot of times, I let positive comments roll right off of me. I regularly expect work from myself which elicits positive comments from others. They're no longer something special. It just feels like I did what I was supposed to do. Sometimes I minimize small comments unrelated to my work. "You look really nice today Casey" or "I really like what you had to say on that topic" can cause me to think that the person was just being nice or they want my help with something. I know that these are not healthy ways to handle feedback, but I recognize this and I'm going to do what I can to take things better in future.
The next article I chose was 6 Bad Mental Habits That Sabotage Your Success. I am for sure guilty of making excuses for myself, but I almost always recognize that I am doing this. In the back of my mind, I know that I was the one who failed and I think of what I can do better next time. The article says that catastrophizing the future is a negative habit, but I've found it to be quite useful. When I am particularly stressed about something, it often helps me to think about the absolute worst case scenario. Even the worst case scenario is not as bad as my anxiety builds it up to be. Seeking audience approval doesn't seem to be an issue for me. When in a stressful situation, it takes every bit of brain power I have to get out the words that I need to say. I can't even think about what someone else might be thinking. I do have some self doubt, but I think it is a fairly healthy amount. I don't believe that it holds me back. I feel the same about putting myself down and second guessing myself. I think that having a little bit of these things is what keeps us in check, but an excessive amount can bring a person down. I am not in excess.
Overall, I recognize that feedback is very important. When it comes from a respectable source, I use it to better myself. Teachers who point out the good with the bad have always made it easier to take criticism well.
(Image Information: Criticism
Source: Pixabay)
Wow, you hit the nail on the head with a lot of what you said in your blog post. It is so true that criticism usually hurts the most when it is coming from someone close to us. We work everyday to keep up our image and meet our own personal quotas, and more often than not, those closest to us fit within our quotas. So when we receive criticism from them, though it may be done with the best intentions, it will always sting the worst. And you are absolutely right, we tend to brush off the good comments coming our way, which is the exact opposite of what we should do!
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