criticise me, please!
Drop your feedback here
Change is natural, whether it be of one’s actions, speech or thinking. Right from childhood, one changes with each passing day. Most of the changes that happen in our personality and thinking are sub-conscious, we don’t explicitly make or think about those changes. Sometimes, these changes are bad, they are not considered to be good traits. For example, over a period of a few months, one might become lazy, which is a sub-conscious change. Or, someone might not talk the way they used to. What I want to do, is make a conscious change in myself as much as it is possible for me to. I want to be able to think of myself as being the sum total of my conscious decisions, and not the remnant of the society around me. For this, it is important to realize exactly what I am doing. Sometimes, it is impossible to realize that a certain trait is up for a change. That is why criticism is necessary. Criticism acts like a reference or a reminder to look at a certain aspect of one self. All criticism does not necessarily have to be wrong, just like all criticism does not have to be valid. I’m sure most of us have heard the phrase “look before you jump”, so consider criticism as a reminder to look, and YOU decide whether you want to jump.
Feedback is of all kinds, from the professional “wear better ties” to the “dude, get your shit together” kinds. All criticism is important. A few months back, sometime in 2014, I did an experiment, where I asked people to provide feedback on me where they had an option to provide it anonymously, and the feedback was open for a week or so. I received some rather strange replies, sure; but it also made me realize a lot of other things that I would not have otherwise.
Providing anonymous feedback can be beneficial not just for the person who provides it, but also for me as an individual. If someone writes a sharp critique of my actions, I do not want to think vengeful or hatred towards anyone. It works both ways. That is why, this time, I’m keeping the feedback open at all times, with a permanent link here on my site. I’m going to try and provide the link in all my future posts, and I hope that people would provide some feedback about the things they are thinking about.
So here is the plan, the process and the project. You go to the link (at the top of the page, or here) and type in your message. If you want to provide anonymous feedback, make sure the “Anonymous” option is selected. That’s it, and perhaps some trivial math like what is 1+1, which I’m sure most of us will get right (eventually). So to sum it up, this is why I’m doing it –
- Many times people, friends, colleagues and others want to say something but won’t because they don’t want to be seen in a negative light, or because they’re conscious about it.
- Sometimes, people don’t know you enough to come and talk to you about something.
- Sometimes, friends don’t want to hurt the feelings of someone they care about.
- Sometimes, you just want to curse at someone, but don’t have the opportunity.
If you’re anything but the last kind, you should provide feedback! It also works wonders for you, because criticizing someone makes you self-aware of what you’re doing on the same points. So do it because you care, or do it because you just want to say something to me. Or, do it because you had this on your mind for a long time, or do it because you love me! I’m listening, and I promise to reply to each criticism, with a positive analysis of the statement, and what I’m going to do about it.
Here’s to self-improvement! Cheers!
And just for symmetry, you can provide your feedback here.