Improve your response to Critical Feedback

One of the earliest lessons I learned during my formative years was, “To always seek feedback”. While this seems easier, at first sight, it actually was very difficult to manage for my younger self then. Like any other individual, I too have had my share of both positive and negative feedback. I enjoyed and cherished whenever I was appreciated for my actions, however, I used to get annoyed and disappointed whenever I was criticized or received negative feedback.

As a child, I often chose to avoid people who provided me with such scathing remarks or opinions. As I matured and understood that feedback is merely an opinion and how to respond to it, is a skill that I need to learn. I dug deeper into it and tried to identify what made me respond in a particular fashion.

One of the core reasons which I felt behind this was the feeling of getting our beliefs, our value system being questioned making us feel that our existence is threatened. While as a child it felt easier to flee than to fight.

As a grown individual, I feel it is imperative to address the problem at its core and do what is needed, the need to learn, how to act and respond to negative feedback. I have been trying out a few methods, which I’d like to share:

1. Letting go of the urge to respond immediately when presented with negative feedback. This helps me in getting enough time to understand and plan my action.

2. Looking within myself for traits that aren’t being questioned, helps in guarding my self-confidence which further helps to deal with the situation in a better way.

3. Instead of getting affected with every feedback I encounter, I prefer to turn to my close bunch of people who offer brutally honest opinions and seek their suggestions which help me in mending my ways and improving.

How do you deal with negative feedback? What methods do you follow?  Please share your thoughts!!