Let Us Love Those Who Give Us Honest Feedback

Their input is priceless

two friends converse passionately and honestly in an empty desert at night, sleek futuristic style — by DALL·E

When we care about what we do, we don’t like to hear that our work is not up to snuff. It is easy to act defensively and argue for the value of our efforts. It is always a mistake. If we have to convince anybody of our output’s worth, especially in a creative endeavour, it is already too late. It could be that they have no idea, or that our work is not for them, or that they were right in that it wasn’t our finest hour.

Care For Those Who Dare

Having people around us who dare to tell us what they genuinely think about what we do is priceless. These people tend to be in our closest circle and thus know exactly how their words might make us feel. They know they will hurt us but hurting us is the right thing to do because they care for us as much as we care for our work. The easy way would be to tell us what we want to hear. Generally, we want our friends to be happy, and good news makes everyone happy, even when made up. However, sooner or later, we will discover the truth, and if their words were dishonest — regardless of the intention — our trust will be broken and hard to fix. The challenge of sharing truthful impressions that may hurt feelings is daunting. Some are more adept than others at conveying their honesty with tact, but all those who do should have a space in the…