Are you good at accepting compliments? Or do you tend to brush them off? But when someone gives you negative feedback it can get stuck in your mind forever. Right?! It turns out that there is more than one reason to embrace positive feedback.
According to a popular Harvard Business Review article, “receiving affirmation is a powerful way for us to grow, particularly when it comes in the form of stories describing moments when we are at our best.” It turns out that “people remember criticism, but they respond to praise.” So the next time someone gives you a compliment, dive in. Ask follow-up questions and don’t shy away from trying to better understand the details surrounding the positive feedback. Ruminating in that success may lead you down a path of future successes.
But you don’t have to wait for others to sing your praises. On a personal level, you can analyze and study previous feedback in order to propel your future self onward and upward. A follow-up Harvard Business Review article called To Become Your Best Self, Study Your Successes, outlines some steps for incorporating this practice into your career:
- Take inventory of any positive feedback that you have received in both your personal and professional life.
- Write down all positive feedback you receive moving forward in both your personal and professional life.
- Review this feedback regularly whether it’s in a notebook or digital file. Make it a part of your daily or weekly routine.
What do you do with compliments when you receive them?
Image via Chris Christian/Flickr.
Spectrum Brands Careers Blog 
May 23, 2019
Career Advice