Feedback Thoughts

 I really enjoyed reading Guy Winch's article, "Why rejection hurts so much and what to do about it". 

One of my greatest fears is rejection. It's part of the reason why I only applied to one college. I was afraid of getting rejected to any other ones. I'm slowly getting over this fear though. I'm currently in the process of applying to PA schools. I'm applying to four schools! :D

I loved learning the psychological aspect on rejection that psychologist Guy Winch provided. He stated that the feeling of rejection comes from the same place in our brain where physical pain can be found. It's theorized that it came to be from our hunter-gatherer ancestors. 

I also really like John Spencer's "Seven Ways to Crush Self-Doubt in Creative Work". One of the ways to stop comparing yourself to others. I've, unfortunately, done this countless times throughout my life. I would get a 92 on a test and if someone got a 100 I would feel less good about myself. I also have a hard time trying not to compare my body to others. However, I will say that I'm getting better at accepting my body and exercising because I want to feel and be stronger not because I want to look like a Victoria Secret's model. 

I also liked his other tip on treating life like an experiment. Ahead of my fear of rejection is fear of failure. The two feel almost similar. However, I think the feeling of failure is a little worse for me. Right now, specifically, my greatest fear is getting rejected into PA school and failing to have a successful life. Spencer's advice was to treat life like an experiment. Don't think of failures as failures. Think of it as a trial, and think of how you'll do it differently in the next trial. I really liked this idea. 

I try to remind myself that it's okay if I don't get into PA my first time. I can try again the next cycle. I will learn what areas I was weak in with my application and improve in those areas in the mean time. This will not only make me a stronger applicant but also a stronger PA for the future. 

I think feedback is so important. I took public speaking over the summer at OCCC. The professor I had was the best in giving me good feedback. She not only gave me good constructive feedback but also very encouraging feedback. It really motivated me to improve on my public speaking skills. I definitely felt a lot more confident coming out of her class. 

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Feedback (pixabay)