Rethinking Critiquing Methods - Like vs. Dislike; What Works, What Does Not Work

Hey there,

I am making an effort to post more frequently.  This does not mean additional pictures will be added - fair warning, but I will try to improve on that as well.

As I was driving home from work, something struck me about criticism in the "Run, Selfie, Repeat" podcast - Number 15 or 16 I think - by Kelly K Roberts (http://www.runselfierepeat.com/).  Kelly, who I started following after she became a Oiselle Muse, is an advocate about women respecting the body they have.  Namely - do not criticize yourself or others.  Be proud of your body as it is.  She recently coordinated a Sports Bra Squad event encouraging people to accept themselves and to show this by running in only a sports bra.  You should check out her social media channels.  I am not quite comfortable enough to do this myself, but she definitely provides great ideas and concepts to consider!

Now back to what I was meaning to type, criticism - especially if you are honest with yourself - is not easy to handle.  Over the years, I have worked in a number of situations that were toxic or just plain tough.  I would spend more time protecting myself then doing work.  That's right, folks, and it is setup situation to become unable to handle criticism.  Then - I was listening to this podcast, where Kelly mentions the acting words of, "what works and what doesn't work" versus "like, doesn't like."

Right now, I am in a position of managing or leading two different groups.  One group is similarly enthusiastic and has many of my interests, but the group also does not hesitate to say, "um..this will not work."  The other group is smaller and not all members have done our assigned task at all or worked in a large group.  Recently, communication was an issue and I so wish I had thought to say, "let's identify what is or is not working."

So, Kelly Roberts, thank you for giving me more to consider, when providing feedback or criticism, and for assisting me in accepting criticism.  I am not quite how I will be able to adjust all my future experiences, but it sure gives me a better outlook for taking on correcting future mistakes and critiques.

Oh - for a little fun - I was able to give a play set to a family, who I am sure will enjoy it.  Ideally, my gifts might be sporadic, but I try to make them useful and I do the same when I donate items.

I hope you had a good day.  My previous two Mondays were rough, but today was pretty good.

So - indeed - Happy Monday to you!