Good day, Purposeful Hearts! Today, we take one final look into the mirrors around us that can broaden and sharpen our perspectives and our purposes. Our mirror for the day is the oft-overlooked side mirror. (If you’ve ever forgotten to pull in your side mirrors to squeeze into a tight garage, you know what I mean.)
Side mirrors are fantastic tools for helping us see beyond what’s immediately in our peripheral vision. We use them most when turning or changing lanes, merging with traffic, and monitoring parking boundaries. In each of these activities, the side mirrors really help to expose our blind spots.
We readily seek the information found in our side mirrors while driving. We want to know what’s there. We need to know what’s there for our own safety and the safety of others. Therefore, we don’t hesitate to look, we accept what we see, and we act according to what we find in the reflection.
Perhaps you can guess where I’m going with this in our discussion today. How do you fare when receiving feedback from others? When was the last time you sought feedback and constructive criticism from those around you who know you best? This is a big ask, because it’s tough to face what you hear. Somehow, we lose the motivation to readily seek the information that we’d find in this “side mirror” feedback. We don’t want to know what’s there because it feels vulnerable and unsafe. We hesitate to look, we don’t want to accept what we see, and we are resistant to change. Ouch.
Perhaps it’s time to reconsider your resistance to feedback. Couldn’t it make you better? Couldn’t it help you grow? What if you learned something that made all the difference in your work, your leadership, your family, or your relationships? Consider the advice from Proverbs 15:31-32: “Whoever heeds life-giving correction will be at home among the wise. Those who disregard discipline despise themselves, but the one who heeds correction gains understanding.” These verses directly call out our natural, protective mechanisms to “disregard discipline.” Just look at the label attached to this behavior! Such people despise themselves. Ouch again.
But did you hear the positive outcomes of receiving feedback? Those who seek out and accept constructive feedback are wise. They gain understanding. What blessings! Just like our side mirrors provide valuable information about our physical blind spots while driving, seeking out feedback from trusted others can help us identify blind spots in our living patterns and set us on a better path toward wisdom and deeper understanding.
By the way, if you’re interested in working through the 360-degree feedback process in your organization, contact me at stacy@thepurposefulheart.com. I love guiding that process and coaching people through incorporating the results into a more purposeful life!
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