My three teenage sons are big fans of my blog. Or at least they are polite and claim to like reading my posts.
Today, my youngest son told me he had a great topic for my next blog.
So he proceeded to tell me a story about two of his friends, both of whom are a bit overweight. Each friend was told by an adult that he should think about losing weight and they were given the reasons why this would be good for their health and future. One of his friends responded by working out, eating better, and ultimately losing 40 pounds (and he’s still going!). The other friend responded by saying the adult was mean and rude. This friend has not done anything to lose weight, but he has complained about the mean adult.
I asked my son what the lessons are from this story and here is what he came up with:
1) When people offer constructive criticism, you can use it to make you better or you can complain and say they aren’t being fair.
2) If you take responsibility for your actions, you can accomplish your goals.
3) How you respond to challenges in your life is what really determines the outcome.
I think my son did pretty well!
As we go through life, we’ll receive feedback and it won’t always be positive. We can take this feedback and use it to improve or we can get defensive and say that the feedback is not accurate. If we want to make ourselves better, we must be open to feedback and constructive criticism. Then once we receive this feedback, it’s up to us to be accountable for improving our performance. We must acknowledge the need for change and then take the responsibility to get it done. Through all of this, remember that it’s not what happens to us in life, but how we respond that makes all the difference in the world. If we tackle our challenges with a positive attitude, with persistence, with openness, with honesty, and with determination, we’ll overcome the challenges and come out on top.
Be open to feedback this week and use it to make life better!
Thanks for reading,
Jim
Jim Earle 