Feedback Thoughts

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The first article I read was Silence the Critical Voices in Your Head by Sabina Nawaz. I was intrigued by the title, because I tend to focus on the negative aspects in my life rather than the positive. She cites work stating that people who focus on their strengths instead of their weaknesses are more productive and engaged with their work. She also suggests asking what your peers or superiors like about your work in addition to what they don’t. I think that this is a good idea, as anyone who truly wants to help you be more successful is bound to be honest with you. Nawaz also states, “Believe the positive, and act as if it were true”. This means that if someone gives you positive feedback, don’t assume that they are just being nice or that they might have a sneaky reason for telling you good things in order to lead you astray. She suggests obtaining feedback from people who you know for sure want to help you succeed. For me, that might be my professors or some of my close friends who I know are able to give constructive criticism. You can access Nawaz’s article here: link.
The second article I read was Using Harsh Feedback to Further Your Career by William Treseder. This article reminded me immediately of my boyfriend Yat Fan’s outlook on life, Grow Up Or Die. As severe, or possibly bleak, as this motto sounds, it helped him get through some difficult situations. I might have mentioned in one of my earlier posts that I was struggling at the beginning of college with finances and family, and that those issues were affecting my schoolwork. Yat Fan helped me toughen up and deal with things rather than avoiding stressful situations like I had been doing before. For many people, receiving feedback can be a difficult process, especially when a lot of hard work has gone into a project. Treseder reminds us that someone critiquing a certain incident, behavior, or aspect of your work does not mean that they are critiquing your whole self. He also suggests ditching the ideas that some people are inherently perfect and that maybe we can be perfect, too. Really, no one can be good at everything. We all have our individual strengths and weaknesses. For me, I struggled to get a low B in a science course that I was trying hard in last year, but I can write quality papers quickly. I think it is imperative to remember our personal strengths, because a positive outlook can greatly alter our productivity and success. This has been true for me throughout my college experience. You can access Treseder’s article here: link.