The gift of (giving yourself) feedback.

Seth Godin rightly says, "feedback is a gift". Feedback allows us to reflect and learn and do better the next time.

When we are giving feedback to others, we are conscious of how we deliver it. We know that if we are too harsh or too critical, not only would the feedback not be effective, but it would have a detrimental impact on our relationship with the person.

However, when it comes to giving feedback to ourselves, we subconsciously tend to deliver it in a harsh tone. Not only does it not help, it makes us likely to repeat the same mistakes.

What we can do is to train the voice inside our head to give the feedback kindly and with empathy. We can empathise with our earlier self, look at the intention and circumstances, and understand what we could have done better.

As we become skilled in giving ourselves better feedback in a better way, we will build a healthy way forward.