We all want life-changing improvements.

But do you dare to ask for direct feedback?

Or do you step back in fear of not measuring up?

Maybe, you are afraid to ask for feedback or worse, to receive it. You don’t want to know you aren’t living up to your own standards, or worse, the standards of others. We’ve probably all been there…well I have for sure!

Good or bad, getting feedback can be motivating or discouraging. But it can also be a powerful tool for change. How you frame, present, and participate in feedback makes all the difference.

But before anything else, it is crucial to have an open mind to accept feedback fully and completely, whether positive or negative. With an open mind, you will be motivated to receive positive feedback. And when it comes to negative feedback, instead of getting disappointed by it, you will learn from it, fix your mistakes, and perform better next time.

“Feedback is the breakfast of champions.”

– Ken Blanchard

The Joy (and Struggle) of Negative Feedback

Accepting negative feedback is a real challenge, but once you learn how to handle negative criticism, you can strengthen your self-esteem, improve your relationships, and live a better life. But only if you’re open to it. 

Negative feedback is not a personal attack (although it can often feel like it is).

Instead, it’s for your betterment, improvement, and change, at least when it comes from those who deeply care about your growth. However, if negative feedback comes from people who deliberately want to put you down, don’t take it close to heart. Thank them and move on. They don’t deserve your energy or time. 

Positive Feedback is Also Challenging

Who doesn’t like getting positive feedback?

Obviously, when someone says nice things about your work or performance, it makes you happy. But just feeling happy isn’t enough…

You should use positive feedback as motivation, as your ladder to reach your most desirable ambitions. Use praise to unlock your talents, uncover your abilities and become better than what you were yesterday. That’s the real challenge.

Rather than sitting with the positive feedback and thinking “oh man, I’m so great”, ask follow-up questions to find more about your strengths, and use it as an opportunity to discover abilities you didn’t even know you had. That’s how you take positive feedback and turn it into a real opportunity. 

Constructive Criticism Pays Off

Let’s take this scenario. You’re a 10-year-old kid who has art classes in school. And your beloved art teacher decides to tell you: “You are NOTHING like your father, who is an artist. You suck at this subject. You’re terrible at all of this.”

Well…that feels like a punch in the stomach. The feedback delivery was terrible for a young kid who ended up hating arts during all the following school years. And likely to hate it when he is a grown up adult!

Have you been in a similar situation like this before? 

Instead, if the feedback was given in a constructive manner, your 10-year-old self would have felt more empowered, motivated, and excited to continue working on improving their artistic skills. 

There is a way of supporting people in their journey without crushing their souls. That’s called constructive criticism, and it comes in timeliness, positivity and consistency. 

Open your Mind, and You Shall Improve

Whether you’re receiving positive or negative feedback, there is a way of using it to your advantage. Face it with an open mind, reflect on the truth and absorb the lessons to grow with it. This is the best thing that you can do to get where you want to be.

Tracking your progress is a key component of reaching any ambitious goal. At Potenic, we make sure you are on track with your personal development journey, by providing personalised infographic reports for your goals and habits in order to measure how far you’ve come.

You can track and reflect on whether your current habit practices are supporting your vision of reaching your goal, and with our encouragement you can stay focused and take action! Potenic has everything you need for the betterment journey ahead.

Did we also say, it can fit into your busy schedule so you can finally find time to focus on you?

For more self-improvement and personal growth articles, read the following:

1. Why Enjoying Your Personal Growth Journey is a Must

2. Potenic: Not Your Simple Habit Tracker To Manage Your Self-Growth

3. How to Make Setting Personal Development Goals More Fun