Full transcript here 👋 Hey, good morning, good afternoon, good evening. This is your life. This is your chance. Listen.

The word for today is feedback. This week, my son discovered one kind of feedback. He found that he can create feedback noise by holding his Pikachu-themed walkie talkies up to one another. Feedback from people, though, is a necessary part of life. We learn our place from others’ reactions to our behavior, and this process has the potential to be even harsher than electronic feedback. Do you ever get frustrated when you’re trying to show a family member how to do something? Communication is complex. Emotions of impatience and frustration convey to children that you’d rather not have to deal with them right now. As difficult as it might be, getting rid of the emotional component of reactions can help you and your family members stay calm with one another so that your intended feedback is not muddied by layers of negative emotional noise.

Today’s concrete challenge is to leave emotion out of reaction. There are, of course, times where emotions are a necessary part of the message you want to convey, but a high percentage of emotional reactions are not necessary or helpful.

If you want to commit, say the following phrase: “I will make an effort to give feedback without emotional noise.” You can also send a message to your family letting them know your intention so that they can help you stay accountable.

I’ll keep the music playing while you get it done, and don’t miss the soundtrack at the end of this episode.

Before you go, repeat the following soundtrack, “I am the kind of person who tries new approaches.”

Let me know if this made a difference in your day by leaving a comment in your podcast app or at concrete.win/today.

Check back tomorrow for a new challenge. Until then.

References:

Why Conversations Go Wrong - Hidden Brain

Clicker Training For Humans

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