Self-Doubt and Feedback Thoughts

Street Sign: Jon Tyson

 Self-doubt is a dangerous thing, and It's something we all have to deal with in our everyday lives. Because of this, the way people deliver feedback is important. We're all human, we all tend to focus on what we do wrong rather than what we do right. We could hear 100 positive things about ourselves from other people and one negative thing and we would automatically focus on that one thing instead of the 100 other positive things. We need to look at things with the mindset, "How can I improve this" instead of dwelling on how you messed up. 

The article Silence the Critical Voices in your Head by Sabina Nawaz, points out how incredibly important our thoughts are. What we tell ourselves in our heads can genuinely make or break us when it comes to pursuing our goals or making us feel alone, and the type of feedback we receive about ourselves could determine the direction our thoughts go. One of my favorite quotes by Marcus Aurelius explains the importance of our thought lives perfectly. "The happiness of your life depends on the quality of your thoughts." 

I also enjoyed the Article Seven ways to Crush Self-Doubt In Creative Work by John Spencer. I can personally relate to the author of this article because I too have been too scared to start something because of my own personal self-doubt. I loved that Spencer figured out practical steps to help out with this issue and my favorite is Don't Compare Yourself to Others. I feel like comparing yourself to others is the quickest way to a very unhealthy thought life. We can't always focus on things that other people have that we don't. 

Understanding that feedback is good is so important. Sometimes we may not get feedback we particularly enjoy hearing, but it'll only help us grow and push us towards success. Focus on the good things and how you can be even better, not the opposite.