How come you are so positive one day and so upset another day?

Do the highs and lows of life frustrate you?

Richard Davidson a neuroscientist at the University of Wisconsin has discovered that when we’re at our best, our brains turn up the activity in an area on the left side, just behind the forehead. When we are upset or even anxious, our brain has turned up the volume on the right side. That’s the zone where we are at our lowest.

When we are judged or given feedback that focuses on what’s wrong, it puts our downer brain area on overdrive. We’re so preoccupied with the bad news that we have a big difficulty on focusing our energy on doing our best work. Even a person’s tone of voice can trigger one or another brain area.

Of course we need feedback if we are going to improve, don’t we? Sadly too many people are poor at giving feedback.

So what do you do?

As you are only able to control one person and that is you, what can you do to soften the comments or feedback that others give to you? I would suggest the following;
1. Consider the state of mind of the person that is giving you the comments. Could they be just having a bad day?
2. Diminish the blow of the feedback with the ‘cushion’ by understanding that you have both good and bad habits.
3. Acknowledge that you do have room for improvement.
4. Take action on the areas that you believe need improvement.
5. Move on – that is don’t let this incident stay with you for any amount of time.

Can you see how this would help you?

When will you take action on this?