Feedback Thoughts

The two sources I looked at seemed to focus on two different things. Both talk about how you react to criticism and things to avoid in your thoughts, but the focus of the first is more on your own thoughts towards yourself, while the second focuses more on understanding why someone is giving you feedback and understanding your own limitations.

For the first, these are definitely problems I'm familiar with, both personally and from friends. It's very easy to focus on the negatives and believe the worst of yourself, while not bothering to actually try and fix those issues. Even without making excuses for what's wrong, simply thinking that you are making bad decisions often results in actually making them, whether it's by changing the decision in an attempt to fix it or by not following through out of fear.

For the second, I struggle with this significantly. It's difficult for me to deal with feedback that isn't given kindly, as it comes off as harsh and insulting even if it was simply meant to be concise. I'm not sure I completely agree with the advice given, which is to vent about it to someone uninvolved. I've found that while it is more difficult, trying to take the time to focus on what is being said rather than how it was said can help. You don't need to just bottle up the emotion, but venting it can make it feel like those emotions are justified when they often really aren't.

(Deep breath, John LeMasney on flickr)

Bibliography:

6 Bad Mental Habits That Sabotage Your Success by Amy Morin on inc.com, Web Source
Using Harsh Feedback to Fuel Your Career by William Treseder on hbr.org, Web Source