Feedback–information about reactions used as a basis for improvement–is a crucial element to growth. Scroll to the bottom for a few quotes about feedback.
We should never fear feedback, although I surmise that it’s in our nature to do exactly that.
Our psyches don’t like the prospect of criticism or being wrong.
Our brains like maintaining the status quo, because it’s safe & safe is preferable, so our brains keep us in patterns that have gotten good feedback.
And maintaining the same course is good for…
Staying on that course, aka: not making progress, changing, growing, taking a risk at doing something new or bigger.
Buying something is automatic feedback. I want, I get, I feel good. There’s no risk, but plenty of reward. There’s no actual achievement, but it results in something, sooo… our brains say, “Yay!”
Starting a new Netflix binge seems like embarking on a new adventure. But it’s an illusion. Real adventure means you’re stuck out, in a new element. You don’t just hit ‘Menu’ & choose a new adventure.
Being upset about some current event. Sure, you may be morally right, but being upset about something that gives you no feedback is fruitless.
All those things aren’t scary.
Being all-in, setting off into unknown territory, taking a chance… THOSE are scary things. Trying to change the world… THAT’S scary.
That’s where you get feedback. And that’s scary.
When you try to make a change (in your own life or the lives of others), strive to make a difference, you could be met with all the stuff our brains don’t like:
- “That doesn’t resonate with me.”
- “I don’t agree with that…”
- Maybe nobody pays attention. Or maybe they won’t care.
That’s rejection.
And that’s scary.
It’s a huge roadblock to tons of people stillfling their potential in favor of staying “safe” away from the judgment, rejection, discomfort, disappointment…
But, guess what.
You’ll get resistance when you try to. create new patterns, but that’s the only way to get something you’ve never gotten.
Some quotes about the merits of feedback:
If you’re going to say what you want to say, you’re going to hear what you don’t want to hear.
— Roberto Bolaño
People will react to you as a result of their own mindset, rather than as a reflection of your worth. Most people use others as mirrors for their own darkness. If you have been hurt by such people, perhaps you can use these experiences to become a different kind of person–one who reflects the light within others instead of using them as mirrors. Maybe your experiences of pain can lead you to being a great leader, someone who lights up the world. Your most painful struggle is ripe with opportunity.
— Vironika Tugaleva
Don’t use proxies when you give tough feedbacks. Be direct! Rather than saying ‘some people don’t even know how to pick the right tie’. Pull aside the person who needs your feedback, and tell him/her in his/her face: ‘Your tie doesn’t match with the event’, and offer some options.
— Assegid Habtewold, The 9 Cardinal Building Blocks: For Continued Success in Leadership
Neither care too much nor too little about the feedback of others.
— Miles Anthony Smith
There is a difference between judgment and feedback. Your critics use you as a mirror for their own hidden darkness. Your teachers hold up a mirror to yours.
— Vironika Tugaleva
Feedbacks are means for brands to look back.
— Bernard Kelvin Clive
Success lies in absorbing negative feedback and making the best use of it.
— Osama Sarwar
People who succeed in business aren’t afraid to hear feedback from their customers; they actually thrive from it.
— Adam Kirk Smith