PhD Journey: Week 10

Feedback

Feedback is a gift you can choose to accept or not.

My wife told me this phrase really stuck with her on a course she’s attending, and I love it. I’m pretty good at asking for feedback on projects, even though I really don’t like to be criticised. It’s been easier for me to do that because I’ve been operating in my comfort zone for a long time, and I could be reasonably sure that when I asked for feedback it would be at least okay, and usually really good. With this move into academia that’s not true any more, and it’s an uncomfortable feeling.

The reason I like this quote is because it reminds me that the discomfort is something that I control. The person I’m asking will have an opinion regardless of whether I ask for it or not, and it’s up to me whether I choose to act on their feedback — part of that choice is controlling the discomfort of hearing it.

Given that I’m going to be getting lots of feedback on my written research, overcoming my initial reaction to argue the point might well be a worthwhile exercise.