Fresh eyes?

Much as we have our own areas of specialty, sometimes it really pays dividends to invite a trusted colleague to give you feedback about your topic from their perspective because it gives ‘fresh eyes’ on the subject, and that’s just exactly what plans for the new year need to be for each of us. We need fresh eyes to look at what’s worked well in 2015 (and before) and equally, what’s not worked so well, so that we can provide even  better outcomes in the coming year.

As I was walking along the beach last (windy) Sunday at Rarangi with my mother and my young dog, she reminded me of what my Dad used to say about the word ‘criticism’. He said that we’ve tended to generalise it into always being negative, but in fact, the word ‘criticism’ (according to the Oxford English Dictionary) means: ‘discuss critically’ as in look at it from all angles; be a ‘critical thinker’; look at the various perspectives: walk in the others moccasins and consider what ‘it’ looks like from other points of view.  This is a very necessary technique in negotiation, giving feedback and understanding difference.

What brought this to my attention was when I managed to get my young dog heeling nicely – which takes her a bit of time when she’s been off-lead for a while. I crooned some words of encouragement and told her how good she was and how nicely she was heeling. My Mum commented that I was very good at acknowledging and giving credit where it was due, as well as providing encouragement. She made the comment that all too often we are very ready to criticise the fault instead of looking for the good. Balance! Make your summer a happier one by ‘looking for the good’.

It also reminded me of the importance of the 3 A’s: Acknowledge, Accept and Act. The 3 A’s are a great tool to keep you tracking and I’ll be writing a blog shortly to show the power of this tool to keep you tracking for 2016.

And, in the meanwhile, if you have something to say to help others kickstart 2016, then I’d love to hear from you!

And for those dog-lovers amongst you who might like to see him – here is a photo of Zebu the dog (and a young friend)