Receiving tough feedback 😱

Ever received some feedback that is hard to hear?

Perhaps it hits you in the gut or takes you down a rabbit hole of wondering whether you’re good enough or how you compare to other people.  

All common reactions in high-performers who care about their career.  

Not very helpful though. I wonder how much time and energy is wasted, or growth opportunities are lost, while we’re off down those rabbit holes. 🐰

Today, I wanted to offer a quick mindset shift on feedback, so you can move forwards from it more quickly. Here it is…

⭐️Feedback is just someone else’s opinion. You might agree with it. You might not. They are allowed to offer it. You are allowed to ignore it. And most importantly, it has NO power over how you feel, until you make meaning of it. ⭐️

It will always be your thoughts ABOUT the feedback (and what it means for you) that fuels how you feel, how you respond and what you DO with it.   

So start to notice the stories your brain comes up with that are OUTSIDE of what has actually been said. Where are you making assumptions, drawing negative conclusions, mind-reading or filtering-out positive messages?  

True confidence is being open to ALL feedback, because you don’t make it mean anything bad about yourself WHILE ALSO knowing that feedback is just someone else’s opinion, which you are free to ignore if you don’t find it valuable. 

🔥🔥🔥

** By the way, for any of you thinking “I can’t ignore the feedback if it’s from my boss”, just sit with that for a minute. Is that really true? Do you HAVE to do what they say? You may CHOOSE to, for the benefit of your career, but you never HAVE to.

** And also, in case it’s not obvious, I don’t recommend you TELL your boss that you’re going to ignore their feedback. Usually best to keep that one to yourself. 😀 How to communicate in those situations is another topic.