Why You Should Not Be Afraid of Feedback

"A Man Will Do Nothing if He Waits Until He Does it So Well that Nobody Finds Faults in What He's Done." This quote has gone a long way in helping me realize that I don't need to be afraid of feedback, most especially the negative ones, if I ever wish to put my ideas and plans into action. Lets face it, whether we accept it or not, there will always be some set of people who criticize our efforts. Fact is that, most of the times, humans expect perfection from themselves and others even though they know quite well that the human race had fallen short of perfection starting from the very day the first human parents (Adam and Eve) disobeyed God. However, that shouldn't be an excuse for failing to be the best that is expected of us in our various areas of specialization. The scriptural knowledge about the imperfection of the human race shouldn't dominate our reasoning faculty such that we feel that we just couldn't do anything completely right. God himself wouldn't be happy about this kind of mentality. Some people feel that they would never be able to do something right, hence they enjoy sitting on the fence of ignorance. Such mentality is a dangerous snare to productivity and self-discovery. However, the point I'm trying to make here is that one should not just have plans (productive ones) up in mind and feel reluctant to execute them for fear of being criticized if one ever performs poorly which is most likely the case at the first trial, but one should learn to take the bull by the horns. Please permit me to bring in this short story to help buttress my point. I remember, when I was given an opportunity to address a large and seemingly formidable audience on a topic I'm quite sure that most of them had already known a great deal about. At first, I was anxious of the very idea of standing before such a formidable looking audience to remind them of what they'd probably known before my appearance on the stage. But then, after studying some recommended materials on the ethics of public speaking, I decided to face the crowd with all amount of boldness. While I focused my attention on those in the audience who might be freshers, I mean those who might be hearing the topic I was speaking on for the first time, I didn't ignore or downplay the presence and insight of the so-called formidable ones. Consequently, I put up a masterly delivery at the end of it all. I was excited over the feedbacks, I got from some of my listeners. But as it's always the case, not everyone applauded me on my performance but I was happy that I didn't allow the fear of poor performance and criticism stopped me from taking that bold step. Remember, I just told you that it's not everybody that applauded me on my performance. Oh yes, that's exactly what happened. But I learned two lessons of great importance from that experience. ###First, I felt motivated to work harder so as to improve on my skills, based on the thought that I might not have hit the right spot in their mind with my presentation to arouse their feelings of appraisal. ###Second, I learned that it is not everybody that will appreciate you for what you do, it doesn't matter how well you do it. Hence, I want to conclude by saying that one way to remain stucked on the fence of ignorance and unproductivity is to feel that you must please everybody. Don't be afraid of feedback. Arise and take action. Let the talkers talk. But don't forget to learn from their feedback.