“I can’t wait to see what good things you do for our planet!”
“I can’t wait to see what good things you do for our planet!”, said my 5 year old niece to her cousin and best friend this morning. It was in response to a beautiful gesture made by her cousin/BFF . They share a strong friendship built on love, laughter and Frozen.
Kids sure do say the most cutest and wonderful things, don’t they? When you hear the honesty and simplicity in their words, you wonder, 'why can’t we all just be like this?’. If only. But don’t be discouraged, because when it comes to the way she structured her positive feedback, we all certainly can be just like her!
Positive feedback is essential for our growth and our mental health. At its very core level, it helps us to feel seen, heard and valued for just being the individuals that we are. This is how we communicate appreciation and love for those around us. At a higher level, positive feedback is encouraging, shifts negative mindsets and helps us overcome hurdles and obstacles to achieve successes in our lives. The many benefits of positive feedback include:
Feeling good about ourselves and our actions.
We are encouraged to repeat and continue with our good actions.
We find ways to overcome obstacles instead of giving in.
We feel supported and appreciated in our lives.
We shift our mindsets from “I can’t” to “I can”.
We build connection and enjoyment, with others and ourselves.
We lift the standards.
How we structure our positive feedback however, can have more impact than the feedback itself! So it’s important to be mindful of how we integrate the positive feedback with the constructive ones.
What I love about my niece’s words of encouragement and support, is the way she outlined the impact her BFF’s actions could have on herself and the planet! When we take the positive actions of someone and link it to the benefit of ‘others and the greater good’, we raise the bar. We;
show them what’s possible;
show them how much they matter;
shift their focus on the impact and possibilities;
create opportunity for self-appreciation for their own efforts;
provide them with hope and the will to not give up.
As parents, it’s hard to sometimes not seek the opportunity to combine positive feedback with constructive (the window of opportunity seems to only opens for a second! :) ). However, I encourage you to consider the potentially larger impact of positive impact alone in situations and let your child grow their confidence in themselves through it.
Feedback is an essential part of relationships as well! We include this topic in the Wonderful Me Program. Keep your eye out for more blog posts about feedback as we dig a little deeper into it in the coming weeks!