Hi, how\u2019s it going? Hope you are doing well.<\/p>\n
I saw something the other day that made me really stop and think about the differences between children and adults. There were two mothers. One of the first mother\u2019s children took the stroller that belonged to the second mother.<\/p>\n
Now, they just wanted to play with it, but the second mother needed her stroller. So the second mother called to the child and said \u201cBring it back.\u201d This made the first mother angry. She said that the second mother shouldn\u2019t be telling her child anything. Now, this could easily be the topic of debate, but that\u2019s not my point right now.<\/p>\n
It made me think of how children don\u2019t accept feedback and criticism very well. Often times, their parents even protect them from having to hear it. But that\u2019s where we need to differ from children.<\/p>\n
Feedback and criticism are important parts of life. They are things we need to learn to accept if we are going to progress as much as we can in life. Without feedback and constructive criticism, we can only change the things that we are aware of.<\/p>\n
But what about all of those things that we are not aware of? I know one woman who has bipolar disorder who discovered something about herself in a way she thought was surprising. She never realized how she was when she was manic, until the day when she met someone else who had bipolar disorder.<\/p>\n
This someone else wasn\u2019t on medications. So she got to see just how a manic episode looked from the outside. It made her stop to think about herself. She told me about her realizations later. You know what she said? She said she never realized just how ANNOYING she was. LOL.<\/p>\n
But it\u2019s true. That, and other things. She probably never realized just how fast she talked, or just how poor her decisions were. But after meeting this other person, she started to realize it. Then she was more willing to accept feedback as to how to change that.<\/p>\n
But do you see how there are things that we are not aware of about ourselves? I don\u2019t know if you realize this, but most people who are in a manic episode don\u2019t realize that anything is wrong. That\u2019s when feedback comes into play.<\/p>\n
If someone is there to tell you all the symptoms that they have noticed, and to help you realize that you are in a manic episode, then you have a much better chance of getting the treatment you need. That is to say, IF you listen.<\/p>\n
We\u2019re not like children. We don\u2019t need to be protected from feedback or criticism. Sometimes the criticism even comes to us in a harsh way. Someone might rudely demand to know why you can never sit still, or why you are talking a hundred miles an hour.<\/p>\n
But you can choose how you take that kind of criticism. You can either take it as being rude, and respond in a like manner. Or, you can surprise them (and probably yourself) and instead choose to thank them for pointing that out to you.<\/p>\n
After all, you probably didn\u2019t even realize that you were doing that. That\u2019s why feedback and criticism is so important. The more we accept it, the more we can grow on our way to recovery.<\/p>\n
What are your thoughts on that?<\/p>\n
Well, I have to go!<\/p>\n
Your Friend,<\/p>\n
Dave<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Hi, how\u2019s it going? Hope you are doing well.<\/p>\n
I saw something the other day that made me really stop and think about the differences between children and adults. There were two mothers. One of the first mother\u2019s children took the stroller that belonged to the second mother.<\/p>\n
Now, they just wanted to play with it, but the second mother needed her stroller. So the second mother called to the child and said \u201cBring it back.\u201d This made the first mother angry.<\/p>\n