Feedback Thoughts

Awesome Quote :)

I really enjoyed reading the articles I chose! They put a new perspective on accepting mistakes as being human comes with imperfections. These articles shed new light on how I really let self-doubt take control over so many aspects of my life. They showed me how I constantly tend to give in to the negative voices in my head telling me I'm not good enough or that someone else is better equipped to do it. I hope these articles gave people a new perspective as it did to me.


The first article I chose to read was Silence the Critical Voices in Your Head by Sabina Nawaz. This article spoke of how people are naturally wired to react more to negative feedback than positive. It also showed how people tend to really fixate on these negative voices in their heads which can eventually limit your progress and growth in life. She gave an example of this gentleman who was successful and as his success grew he would tend to worry and fall into listening to his own doubts. He had his workers interviewed and although their feedback was mostly positive, he fixated on the minuscule criticisms. What this man eventually realized and changed to help him was to outnumber those negative thoughts. For every negative thought, there should be five positive thoughts to verse it. Through this, you can have the real energy and motivation to grow and take risks in your life. Some key approaches to help this growth is to look for the positive, hear the positive, dig into the positive, and finally believe in the positive and act as if it were true. A lot of us or at least I do tend to disregard the good aspects and fixate on the bad because of the need to be perfect. Even if it was a minor mistake it resounds more in my head then all the positive. So ask for the positive feedback! Ask what your strengths are, which the article mentions doing. Make sure to also hear and try to understand the good feedback! Don't lessen yourself or disregard your accomplishments.  This is something I heavily struggle with on the daily. I would receive positive feedback and put them aside, wonder if they mean it, and don't really believe them. Even in small things like compliments. My boyfriend compliments me and my immediate reaction is " you have to say that" I lower my self worth and stunt the positivity he tries to share with me. I'm glad I read this article because it showed me I truly have a lot to work on.

The second article is called Seven Ways to Crush Self-Doubt in Creative Work. This article was very similar to the first but I really like the examples, approach, and advice John Spencer shared in this article. I think I chose articles that tackle the mindset of approaching the negative comments and self-doubt because its something I really struggle with. The author's seven ways to crush self-doubt in your work are the following: don't compare yourself to others, abandon Perfectionism, Be vulnerable to a trusted community, embrace a growth mindset, set goals that are within your control, treat your work as an experiment, and trust yourself.
With the first point, do not compare yourself to others, I think its a common thing that people tend to do. I certainly do it all the time, but I have to remember that everyone is different and are in different stages of life. For instance, I recently wanted to start doing yoga because I've read so many positives about it and I think it could be beneficial in my life. I was inspired by a friend of mine who posts constantly about her yoga routines and sometimes I find myself comparing my self to her. I tell myself I could never do that or maybe I just shouldn't. I had to talk myself out of it and tell myself that she is years ahead; she may have had the same doubts or moments of unmotivation. I need to do things for myself simply because I want to or it's good for me.
The second point, abandon perfectionism, is also something so very common to struggle with. There were so many times I didn't wanna share a thought, idea, or work because of the fear of it not being perfect. I think about it now and whenever I would make any minuscule mistake in my work I would apologize constantly. My new goal is to see mistakes as the author explained it, which is mistakes are the fertilizer for creative growth. It sucks and maybe stinky at the time but it helps!
The the third point, be vulnerable to a trusted community, was something  I never thought of in the way he explained it. There is sometimes this fear to ask for help or maybe say that you're struggling with somethings. I can happily say I have worked on this and it really changed my life and brought me some amazing people in my life. Through me saying " I don't understand this" it helped me grow and the people around me too. They also reassure me and give me confidence in my work.
The fourth, have a growth mindset, we all learned about the growth mindset and how important it is to have this mindset in our lives. Keep the drive to learn always. This perspective will shed new light on making mistakes and seeing them as an opportunity to improve rather than you're not good enough.
The fifth and sixth point, set goals within your control and treat your work as an experiment, I put together because I think there should be a balance for both. By making goals that you can reach can build up to even bigger goals eventually. There should also be goals and work that pushes you to step out and see what else could work for you. You never know you may find something that you never thought you could do or would have considered!
The final point is probably most important, trust yourself. Trust that you could accomplish what you want to do. Trust that you can step out and that you are enough to do amazing things!  I took this approach in school and I kept pushing myself and trusting in myself and found that I grew more than I ever had. I trusted my work, my ideas, and my answers more. It is something I constantly have to work on, but I can't wait to see how much I will grow in the coming future!