My Feedback Thoughts

Feedback is something that most of us would either accept or wouldn't accept, yet, feedback is crucial for our own progression in whatever we do. Whether it may be project work, a book you've written, maybe even a game you've played and your performance in it. Feedback helps us to improve ourselves, to help us strive to make it perfect for us and those we're trying to impress. 

Yet, we are afraid of accepting feedback because of it's negative implications.

Happy-O-meter

First, why does it cause a negative effect on ourselves? Why is it so hard for us to hear it? According to an article written by Tim Herrerra, it is because we're all awful at delivering negative feedback. That, or we're just bad at comprehending something cynical that is in actuality meant to help us. It's a self-trained thing that our minds would do. It would lock out what would essentially help us. 

We would receive our feedback for our work from our lecturers, they would say the good but also the bad and that is where our minds would begin rejecting their points. I know it from experience with one of my lecturers in Dunboyne. I did the work required for Communications yet when she told me that I'm lacking in certain areas of the work, that is where I wanted to shut her off. 

As well as this, emotions are another thing that is thrown in there too. Once the negative stuff starts coming out then you'd begin feeling all sorts of stuff. Sadness, disappointment, anger and defensive. These all would nearly boil out yet through sheer will held these emotions back.

So what can we do about it? How can we make negative feedback better for ourselves and for our minds?

One solution to handling this problem is to simply ask for feedback. When your friend, lecturer, colleague or client shows a bit of disapproval in something, don't be afraid to ask what's wrong. 

Yes, our brains are hotwired to reject negative feedback yet if we can ask them why they feel this way, what is it that they don't like? If we can understand the individuals then we can further teach ourselves what's best for them. In the words of Bill gates;

“Your most unhappy customers are your greatest source of learning.”  

Sources: 

https://www.nytimes.com/2018/03/26/smarter-living/why-its-so-hard-to-hear-negative-feedback.html

https://www.kqed.org/mindshift/44408/how-to-get-past-negativity-bias-and-hardwire-positive-experiences