Today I am back for a second day of training. Yesterday was all about taking information in. Today is about applying what we have learned. I understand why I needed to spend all of yesterday in a passive, receiving mode. Without it, I would not have been able to jump right in like I did this morning. And jumping in is what I love to do. But, being a passive learner all day meant I needed a lot of caffeine and stretch breaks to keep me focused.
This morning has been very different. I arrived filled with eager anticipation for the start of the session. We are at our first break and I am feeling great. I did take a quick stretch break, but no additional caffeine was required. After all, who needs caffeine when I have positive reinforcement to keep myself going?
I went to a college that tended more towards negative than positive reinforcement. Rather than incorporating some positive feedback in critiques, the focus was entirely on what could have been done better. The result was a cohort of folks like myself who think that nothing we do is ever good enough. Feeling that way sucks all of the motivation out of me. Its not that I don’t want to learn from the feedback I receive. I do. But doing so makes me feel like I am being asked to swim through a swimming pool filled with jello.
But this morning’s trainer was awesome. Did I do everything right? Hell no. Did she tell me what I did right in addition to telling me where to make improvements? Absolutely. And therein lies the difference. Instead of crawling into a hole of self-doubt, her feedback made me want to do better the next time around. And, for the record, I did. There is amazing power in making some feel smart and capable. It unlocks all sorts of energy.
It is important that I add that the positive reinforcement needs to be real. Not rewarding everyone the same way just for trying. The trainer did not say “great job” and leave it there. That would have just been meaningless. Instead, she highlighted specific areas for both me and my fellow trainee. I was able to learn from his feedback as well as my own. In other words, it has been a great morning.