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Vengeance of the Sun God, Part 2
*Part 1 can be found at http://mrsedenela.oucreate.com/indianepics/story-1/. *
Daedalus watched his son intently as they flew across the sparkling Aegean Sea toward freedom. The boy's eyes narrowed in concentration, his furrowed brow glistening with sweat. It was after several leagues of fixing his full attention on Icarus that Daedalus realized that he was not struggling as much as the boy. In fact, he was not struggling at all. It was as if the feathers retained their muscle memory of flying although they were no longer attached to the muscles that directed their flight. Daedalus tried to will the wings closer to Icarus so he could share his revelation: the wings knew how to fly on their own.
Before he could figure out how to communicate his plan to the wings strapped around his arms, Daedalus saw Icarus jerk his face toward the sky. A shock of fear spread across the boy's face. Daedelus glanced up at the sun to see what had frightened the boy but saw nothing other than the glaring sun. As he looked back toward his son, a surge of fear gripped his own gut. The air swam around Icarus, turning the boy's form into a mirage. Icarus had hit a pocket of condensation, assumed Daedalus. Horror thrilled through his body as he waited for the coming downdraft to force Icarus towards the sea. Daedalus opened his mouth to shout out a warning, but a foreign voice broke through his lips.
"Sampati! No!" As if responding to the strange voice, the wings carrying Icarus angled expertly, causing the boy to bank left. As a thermal caught him, the wings snapped wide and the condensation around Icarus cleared. As the image sharpened, Daedalus saw the form of a great eagle instead of his son. The eagle arced sharply upward and blocked the sight of the sun from Daedalus. Suddenly, the wings collapsed around Icarus, the image of the great eagle gone as Icarus plunged head-first into the waves of the Aegean.
***
The shock of the events that passed before Daedalus paralyzed him. The wings continued to maneuver on their own, preventing Daedalus from following his son head-first into the sea below. Daedalus's mind was back in the prison tower.
Late at night: Daedalus bent over the apparatus. Icarus, who was in charge of stirring the beeswax used to affix the feathers to the scaffolding, would occasionally stay his father's hand and pass the paddle's handle over to Daedalus to take over the constant motion over the low fire. Icarus would pick through the feathers and, using an artist's eye, sort the feathers into two piles. Daedalus assumed that Icarus had studied the plumage of the giant eagles as he plucked the feathers from their corpses, but the feathers had whispered to the boy's subconscious directing his efforts to ensure that each wing was replicated exactly.
Daedelus fretted over his choice of using the beeswax as the two worked. He wished he could have obtained more than the minuscule sampling of pine pitch from the Cretian engineers. The sturdy tar would hold better than the beeswax, but King Minos was afraid that Daedalus would use the pitch as a weapon against the guards. Which he would have. Daedalus was only allowed enough to perform experiments in order to discover new ways to refine the tar for new uses in the kingdom.
"Not too high, the sun may melt the wax," Daedalus was positive he warned Icarus each time they made design adjustments to the wings. "Not too high, the sun may melt the wax," Daedelus replayed in his mind, over and over, each instance he gave his son this critical advice as he sailed along. The paralysis that gripped Daedalus saved his life. If he had been able to move, he would have driven himself into the sea. The wings continued their journey, flying on a crosswind that caught the magnificent feathers and angled them west.
***
Land finally came into view. The wings folded into an elegant dive, snapping open again when the water met the shore and setting Daedalus gently on the sandy beach. Daedalus's legs crumpled under him when the wings no longer supported his weight. Blinding rage overtook him. A howl of anguish burst from his lips as he clawed at the bindings that held his arms to the apparatus. It was more an act of mutilation than of emancipation. His fingernails carved deep red welts into his skin, at places breaking through and drawing blood. The blood loosed the bindings of the apparatus and Daedalus ripped the wings from his back.
Once freed from the weight of the wings, Daedalus began to mourn his son. Hot tears mixed with sticky blood, sand, and sea salt and seemed to call an invocation to the heavens. A gentle hand rested upon his shoulder. Blinking away the stinging mist from his eyes, Daedalus half-turned and looked up. A familiar face smiled with sympathy. She held two spools of silk twine, one in each hand. Daedalus glanced at his shoulder, looking for the hand that continued to provide its calming pressure. Nothing was there. Fearing he was beginning to lose his mind, he looked up imploringly into the face of the woman beside him.
"Athena," he stated simply.
"Hello, Grandson," she replied warmly. "You must get up. We have much work to do."
***
Sweaty and exhausted, Daedalus looked up from the altar he constructed from rocks collected from along the waterfront. Dried driftwood had been placed in the center. The work had cleared his head and he finally focused on the scenery beyond the beach.
"This isn't Greece," he observed. "Where are we? Why did the wings bring me here?"
"This is the shore of Sicily. Our essence would be too strong among our own followers to perform a proper Convergence. Surya and Aruna's combined rage allowed them to Converge for a short time, but they would not be able to hold form long enough for a conversation." Athena smiled at the look of confusion of Daedalus's face. "Place the wings on the altar, Grandson. Strike the fire and call for my brother, Apollo."
Daedalus knelt next to the altar and removed his fire kit from the pouch tied at his waist. He made a nest of tinder on the edge of the altar and placed his hands just above. Poised to strike the first ember, he closed his eyes. He could not find the proper words to pray to Apollo. He packed all of his grief and pain into a single word and whispered, "Apollo." As he brought the sharp stone to strike against unyielding metal, a brilliant light flashed as scorching heat blew Daedalus onto his back.
***
*Author's Note:
The story of Jatayu and Sampati, Sons of Aruna: The two young vultures enjoyed racing each other each day. One day as they were racing, they annoyed their father Aruna, the charioteer of Surya the Sun God. Aruna sent a scorching ray to punish his sons. Sampati raced above Jatayu and shielded him from the blast. Sampati fell to the earth. Unable to fly because he was severely disfigured, Sampati lived in a cave by the shore on the southern tip of India.
I didn't understand why Aruna would scorch his sons just for being annoying. I mean, I'm a human and I manage to not maim my children when they annoy me. I decided to blend this story with the story of Daedalus and Icarus. I'm still doing research to figure out how to bring Jatayu and Sampati back to life. I have ideas, I'm just trying to decide if Surya or Indra would be the right god for the job. Maybe a combined effort?
I chose the references below because they explain the parts of the myths that I drew from in a better way than Wikipedia or Britannica did and some of them have really cool pictures. Bibliography
"Angel Wing Clipart Png #1699972." Clipart Email. Clipart Email, 2020.
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Friday, February 28, 2020
Week 7 Vengeance of the Sun God, Part 2
Wednesday, February 26, 2020
Week 7 Reading Notes, Switch Up Ancestors of Rama and Sea Route to India
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| (This frustratingly accurate image is courtesy of Giphy.)
I had the opportunity to spend the afternoon at Bizzell, so I was able to check out some of the Amar Chitra Kama comics from the Reserves. I read those today, so I'm trading the Extra Reading post notes and the Mahabharata reading will be on that post.
    Bibliography
Atmaram, H. and Bapu Patil. Sea Route to India. Amar Chitra Katha Pvt, 1986.
Chandrakant, Kamala and RAm Waeerkar. Ancestors of Rama. Amar Chitra Katha Pvt, 1977.
Currently Reading:
by Kwame Mbalia
by Toni Morrison
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Monday, February 24, 2020
Reading Notes, Mahabharata Part B
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| (Image courtesy of Giphy.) |
Bibliography
Narayan, R.K. The Mahabharata, 1978. University of Chicago Press, 2013.
Saturday, February 22, 2020
Week 6 "Extra" Reading, Mahabharata Part A.3
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| (Image courtesy of https://giphy.com/gifs/class-textbook-Fs2BifYzB9dzG.)
I had to track through the rest of Part A. I'm still confused why the Pandavas were introduced as such douchebags if they're supposed to be the protagonists of the story.
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Bibliography
Narayan, R.K. The Mahabharata, 1978. University of Chicago Press, 2013.
Thursday, February 20, 2020
Week 6 Story Lab: "Vengeance of the Sun God, Part 1" Notes for Revision
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| (Image courtesy of ClipArt Library |
How do I get Icarus out of Crete in the first place?
Hellenistic writers give euhemerizing variants in which the escape from Crete was actually by boat, provided by Pasiphaë, for which Daedalus invented the first sails, to outstrip Minos' pursuing galleys, and that Icarus fell overboard en route to Sicily and drowned. Heracles erected a tomb for him.
The most familiar literary telling explaining Daedalus' wings is a late one, that of Ovid: in his Metamorphoses (VIII:183–235) Daedalus was shut up in a tower to prevent the knowledge of his Labyrinth from spreading to the public. He could not leave Crete by sea, as the king kept a strict watch on all vessels, permitting none to sail without being carefully searched. Since Minos controlled the land and sea routes, Daedalus set to work to fabricate wings for himself and his young son Icarus.
Pasiphae was the daughter of Helios, the Titan god of the sun, and Perse,[3] of the Oceanids. [4] Like her doublet Europa, her origins were in the East, in her case at Colchis; she was the sister of Circe, Aeëtes and Perses, and she was given in marriage to King Minos of Crete. With Minos, she was the mother of Acacallis, Ariadne, Androgeus, Glaucus, Deucalion, Phaedra, Xenodice, and Catreus. She was also the mother of "starlike" Asterion, called by the Greeks the Minotaur. In the Greek literalistic understanding of a Minoan myth,[7] in order to actually copulate with the bull, she had the Athenian artificer Daedalus[8] construct a portable wooden cow with a cowhide covering, within which she was able to satisfy her strong desire.
Daedalus ends up on the island of Sicily.
His father cried, bitterly lamenting his own arts, and called the island near the place where Icarus fell into the ocean Icaria in memory of his child. Some time later, the goddess Athena visited Daedalus and gave him wings, telling him to fly like a god.
Further to the west Daedalus arrived safely in Sicily, in the care of King Cocalus of Kamikos on the island's south coast; there Daedalus built a temple to Apollo, and hung up his wings, an offering to the god. In an invention of Virgil (Aeneid VI), Daedalus flies to Cumae and founds his temple there, rather than in Sicily; long afterward Aeneas confronts the sculpted golden doors of the temple.
The island on which his body was washed ashore was later named Icaria.
His father cried, bitterly lamenting his own arts, and called the island near the place where Icarus fell into the ocean Icaria in memory of his child. Some time later, the goddess Athena visited Daedalus and gave him wings, telling him to fly like a god.
Further to the west Daedalus arrived safely in Sicily, in the care of King Cocalus of Kamikos on the island's south coast; there Daedalus built a temple to Apollo, and hung up his wings, an offering to the god. In an invention of Virgil (Aeneid VI), Daedalus flies to Cumae and founds his temple there, rather than in Sicily; long afterward Aeneas confronts the sculpted golden doors of the temple.
The island on which his body was washed ashore was later named Icaria.
Matsya
Feeling guilty about how fulfilling her lust with the Poseidon (the white bull) caused her faithful servant Daedelus to be condemned and imprisoned, Pasiphae called on her mother Perse to bring a ship close to the shore and called on the Hippocampus of Poseidon to take the boy to the ship (when you accidentally father a Minotaur, you let your girlfriend use your sea hore for favors). The dagger that Icarus carries bears a resemblance to Athena's weapon to mark him as a Metonied and has a hilt made of Minotaur horn so the hippocampus can identify him as the individual that needs to be taken to the ship.
As the daughter of Helios, Pasiphae is the connection to why Icarus and Daedelus would recognize Helios. I just have to figure out how Helios would encounter the two before the big conflict.
Wednesday, February 19, 2020
Reading Notes, Mahabharata Part A.2
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| (Image courtesy of Giphy.) |
King Succession line:
Santanu
Should be Devaratha, son of Ganga, but it isn't
Chitrangada, son of Satyavathi
Vichitravirya
Should be Dhritarashtra, son of Ambika and Vyasa (but considered son of Vichitravirya) but
abdicates the throne
Pandu, son of Ambalika and Vyasa (but considered son of Vichitravirya)
Dhritarashtra ascends the throne after Pandu dies
Dead by Chapter 2:
may Santanu, it is unclear if he died or if he just retired.
Chitrangada
Vichitravirya
Pandu
Pandu's second wife Madri
Pandu's children that were actually fathered by gods:
Birthed by Kunthi
Karna- son Surya, of the Sun God (sent floating down the river and was adopted by a charioteer and
his wife)
Yudhistira- Son of Yama, God of Death and Ultimate Justice
Bhimasena- Son of Vayu, God of Wind
Arjuna- Son of Indra, Chief of Gods
Birthed by Madri
Nakula and Sahadeva- Twin Sons of the Aswins, Twin brothers who are sons of Surya.
Set-up for Chapter 2:
King Dhritarashtra and his uncle Bhima (formerly known as Devaratha) have taken in Kunthi and her five demigod children.
Dhritarashtra's wife Gandahari somehow has managed to give birth to one hundred boys. The poor woman.
Bibliography
Narayan, R.K. The Mahabharata, 1978. University of Chicago Press, 2013.
Currently Reading:
by Lorraine Hansberry
Tuesday, February 18, 2020
Reading Notes, Mahabharata Part A
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| (Image courtesy of 123RF.) |
Bibliography
Doniger, Wendy. Foreword. The Mahabharata, by R.K. Narayan, 1978. University of Chicago Press, 2013.
Currently Reading:
by Lorraine Hansberry
Sunday, February 16, 2020
Famous Last Words-Week 5
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| (Image Courtesy of IMGBIN.) |
I had a lot of papers due in the early part of this week. It was pretty stressful. I was nervous about missing the Tuesday/Wednesday notes assignments for this class, but I was glad that the reading options were just more versions of the Ramayana. I was able to read through parts of these versions and use a couple of the extra credit options to make up for the points I lost. I have a couple of instructors in the College of Ed that preach against offering extra credit. They insist that it just makes more papers to grade and that the only students who take advantage of the extra credit are the students that don't need it anyway. Lies! It's all lies! Sometimes you need those extra credit points available because life happens and students need options to adjust.
Although I struggled to produce my other writing projects, this week's story came easily to me. Probably because while I was slogging through papers that had narrow prompts and stuffy rubrics, the creative part of my brain was mulling over the story for this class. Having the freedom to write creatively was cathartic. It was like the Once-ler got ahold of my story and it kept biggering and biggering in my brain, and now I have a huge story that's coming together. I'm enjoying it, though.
Saturday, February 15, 2020
Comment Wall
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| (Image courtesy of Pixy.orgPixy.org.) Access my portfolio project at: https://mrsedenela.oucreate.com/indianepics/ |
Thanks for your comments!
Week 5 Wikipedia Trail
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| (Image courtesy of ClipArt Library.)
My Wikipedia Trail centers on Jatayu and Sampati. I looked up a lot of Indian landmarks because I am trying to figure out how to get Icarus/Sampati's body from the Aegean Sea to India. I think Makara is going to be a big player in this move. I'm also trying to figure out why Jatayu is the king of the eagle clans, but he's called a vulture. Sampati is legitimately a vulture, so I think that's going to play into why Daedalus didn't believe in the great eagles, but he didn't think that Icarus would confuse the great eagles for the vulture brothers.
Included are my notes from The Divine Archer. They should be listed in the Extra Credit reading blog, but I put all of my notes together, and I divided the Archer notes between the two blog posts.
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Bibliography
Gould, F.J. The Divine Archer. JM Dent and Sons, 1911.
Deccan Plateau (landmark)
Griddharaj Parvat (landmark)
Godavri River (landmark)
Nashik (landmark)
Rammakalmedu (landmark)
Vindhya Range (landmark)
Week 5 Extra Credit Reading Notes
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| (Image courtesy of ClipArt Library.)
I focused on Jatayu and Sampati during my extra credit reading so I can get a better grasp on how to form the rest of the Vengeance of the Sun God storyline.
  Bibliography
Nivedita. Myths of the Hindus & Buddhists ... With Thirty-Two Illustrations in Colour by Indian Artists under the Supervision of Abanindro Nāth Tagore. Edited by Ananda K Coomaraswamy and Abanindranath Tagore, Dover, 1967.
Currently Reading:
by Stephen King
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Thursday, February 13, 2020
Week 5 Story: Vengeance of the Sun God, Pt. 1
**Update**
A copy of this story is located at http://mrsedenela.oucreate.com/indianepics/story-1/. That is the version that will be receiving revisions. Thanks for your help and support!
-Eden
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(Image courtesy of ClipArtEmail.)Vengeance of the Sun God
Daedalus let the rope slip quickly over the window sill. He had saved weeks of his rations and packed them along with valuable tools to trade for additional supplies for his son Icarus. The young man and supplies were now on the opposite side of the rope disappearing into the darkness below. Daedalus sent his son on an impossible task: find feathers from the wings of the mythical giant eagle so both father and son could escape from the prison of King Minos.
There were no giant eagles, Daedalus knew, but Icarus refused to escape without his father. The long years Daedalus spent engineering the labyrinth below the city of Crete had taken its toll. There was no way he could manage an escape from the island, so he created a design for magnificent wings that could carry him on the wind across the sea to Greece. The design was scientifically sound, and it was easy to convince Icarus that giant eagles existed. The search would take the boy far away from the prison tower and keep him safely away from their enemies. Icarus was a determined boy and would not return until he found the fabled feathers, which would be never.
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***
Icarus traced the stories of the giant eagles to the land of India. His journey was long and arduous. He had traded all the tools his father had packed away for him, saving only the knife his father smithed for him: a large dagger, shaped to represent Zeus' thunderbolt, the tang buried into a piece of the Minotaur's horn. His remaining supplies were scant, but now he was standing on the mountain overlooking the roosting site of the giant eagles; the nearly empty bag was now a welcome supply. It had plenty of space to fill with those coveted wings.
Two young, strong eagles had breezed in on the evening air, settling to roost. As the night deepened, Icarus crept along the thick branches and slew the two eagles. As the second body fell to the rocky mountain terrain below a gleaming light appeared beside Icarus.
"What have you done?!" a throaty feminine voice cried as the light dissipated around her strong form. "Grandson, what caused you to act so unwisely? This is not the way of our clan!" It was Athena, the matriarch of the clan Metionid, and the benefactor of Icarus's father Daedalus. "Do you know who you have just slain? These corpses were Jatayu and Sampati, beloved sons of Aruna, the charioteer of Surya- the embodiment of the Sun God that serves the people of India."
"I was sent by my father. Their wings are the only way that he can escape the tower we have been trapped in," replied Icarus defiantly. "You once favored him, but now he rots in a prison, a slave to King Minos."
"Because your father's actions resulted in the loss of Aruna's sons," prophesied Athena, her stormy grey eyes boring into the sky blue eyes set in the face of Icarus, "your father will also lose his son." In a flash, Athena disappeared. Unsure of what else to do, Icarus remained committed to his quest and climbed to the base of the tree to remove the magnificent feathers that made up the wings of the Aruna's sons.
***
Intermittent plinking sounds began at the window shortly after sundown. Assuming it was the clouds struggling to produce rain, Daedalus hurried across the room to close the shutters. As he reached the window, something stung his forehead. Looking down at the floor, he noticed several pebbles strewn under the window. He thrust his head out the window and looked to the base of the tower. Fortunately, Icarus saw his head extended out the window, and froze, arm cocked, ready to loose another pebble. Shocked, Daedalus quickly lowered a rope to his son.
***
The two Metionids stood atop the tower. Daedalus had affixed assorted instruments to the ramparts in order to gauge the weather. The finished wings were stored safely in a pine box waiting for the seasons to turn and bring the hearty spring wind that would carry them to Athens. Icarus watched the instruments closely. The wind toward the mainland, bringing about a barometric change. "Father, it's time," stated Icarus as he threw open the lid of his pine box. They strapped on the wings and climbed to balance on the ramparts.
***
The experience was both shocking and wonderful. Wind zipped through Icarus's hair as he worked to gain control of his wings. Not too high, instructed Daedalus when he was giving Icarus ground lessons, hiding behind the ramparts struggling to remain unseen, the wax holding the feathers to the apparatus will melt. Not too low, Daedalus reminded his son before they jumped into the wind, the sea spray will weigh you down.
Icarus's confidence increased, but he remained mindful of his position between the sun and the sea. Suddenly, an odd movement from above caught his eye. He looked toward the sun, tracking the motion. When his eyes adjusted, he realized that a flaming chariot was quickly approaching him and his father. As it got closer, he saw two men within the chariot. One man driving, and the other testing the strength of his bow. The men's bodies shimmered like the heat off of desert sand. Each man was a dual image, first looking like the Greeks and the next moment sharing the facial features and dress of the Indian clans that Icarus traveled with on his quest.
The bowman drew an arrow of pure fire and aimed it at Daedalus. "This is for Aruna, my most faithful servant!" he cried.
"You slew my sons," stated the charioteer staring directly at Icarus. His face once again shifted and solidified into the face of the man who was surely Aruna. "Your father will pay with his life!"
Without thinking, Icarus banked to the left and caught a thermal pocket that sped him closer to the chariot, placing him above Daedalus. The image of Surya solidified as the arrow was loosed. Icarus spiraled out of the sky and hit the water. The weight of the wing apparatus dragged him below the waves.
***
To Be Continued...
Author's Note:
The story of Sampati and Surya made me think of Daedalus and Icarus. I thought it was strange that the eagles' father would be annoyed enough at them soaring around the chariot that he would strike out at them, causing Sampati to suffer serious damage. If you want to know how they showed up in the Ramayana if they were murdered by Icarus, you'll get that part of the story during the next writing session. I've got some cool ideas about that, but it would definitely double the word count limit. The next part will be more India heavy than this one was. India has cooler creation gods, and I think they can handle reanimating a couple of sentient eagles.
Bibliography
Icarus https://www.greekmythology.com/Myths/Mortals/Icarus/icarus.html Apollo https://apollogreekmyth.weebly.com/areas-of-rule-and-weaponspowers.html Helios https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Helios#Conflation_with_Apollo
Athena's Weapon https://sophia-nick-athena.weebly.com/tools-weapons-or-attributes.html
Jatayu https://www.giantbomb.com/jatayu/3005-19521/
Sampati https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sampati
Aruna https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aru%E1%B9%87a
Surya https://www.ancient.eu/Surya/
Jatayu https://www.giantbomb.com/jatayu/3005-19521/
Sampati https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sampati
Aruna https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aru%E1%B9%87a
Surya https://www.ancient.eu/Surya/
Thursday, February 6, 2020
Story Lab Week 4 Tutorial
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| (Image courtesy of NetClipArt.)
I tracked my experience of working with Twine as my Twine Story. The link below will take you to my Twine Story.
Story Lab Week 4 Tutorial |
Wednesday, February 5, 2020
Reading Notes: Ramayana Part C.2
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| (Image courtesy of https://gph.is/g/4wMR1rO.) |
Bibliography
Narayan, R.K. The Ramayana: A Shortened Modern Prose Version of the Indian Epic. Penguin Books, 2006.
Currently Reading:
Tuesday, February 4, 2020
Reading Notes: Ramayana Part C
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(Image courtesy of Giphy.) |
Bibliography
Narayan, R.K. The Ramayana: A Shortened Modern Prose Version of the Indian Epic. Penguin Books, 2006.
Currently Reading:
by Veronica Roth
Sunday, February 2, 2020
Feedback Strategies: Thinking Past Yourself When Giving Feedback to Others
Thinking Past Yourself When Giving Feedback to Others
by Erica Ariel Fox
Harvard Business Review, March 22, 2017
By Joel Almeida
tiny buddha
In my last feedback blog post, I featured two articles that discuss the science behind the fear of feedback and tips to overcome fear of feedback. I also discussed the maladaptive personality disorders of avoidant personality disorder and rejection sensitive dysphoria. This week, I want to encourage you to see that you can take steps to gain control over your fear of feedback by battling self-criticism.
The first article, When Your Toughest Conversations Are the Ones You Have with Yourself, discusses how many top leaders and managers that have built successful departments and teams by building an environment centered on practicing and providing useful and encouraging feedback to peers and staffers still struggle with self-criticism. These are people that seem the most fierce and confident, yet they succumb to imposter syndrome- the fear that they will be 'found out' by their peers as not being as knowledgable or competent as they seem. Often, this is related to perfectionism- assuming that love and respect are only earned through success. Both of these concepts are related to APD and RSD. What makes these leaders different from other individuals suffering from these issues is that "The ones who make it to the top learn to deal with the universal voice of self-doubt head-on" (Fox).
I want to point out the operative word: learn. In spite of their inner voice, these leaders actively seek out insight for strategies of conducting difficult conversations with others and make it part of their work culture. They meet the fear of feedback head-on not just by applying techniques for combatting self-criticism, but they use these effective strategies to train their brains to talk to themselves with the same understanding and empathy that they have developed in their work culture.
The second article is a technique for combatting self-criticism that the author Joel Almeida calls "REBS, short for reality-based self-congratulation." I'd like to point out that although Almeida claims that he has done extensive scientific research, there is no link to any studies in this article or on his personal website. I do think his concepts are worth considering because they encourage mindfulness and build a habit of consciously articulating self-positive thoughts when you succeed instead of just articulating self-critical thoughts when you fail. This way, you have a bank of positive thoughts to anchor yourself from spiraling out of control each time you feel the need to criticize your own actions.
Once we build connections between how we give feedback to ourselves and how we participate in providing feedback to others we can build the empathy necessary to seek out practical feedback on our own projects and efforts and learn how to give substantive feedback to others.
.
In my last feedback blog post, I featured two articles that discuss the science behind the fear of feedback and tips to overcome fear of feedback. I also discussed the maladaptive personality disorders of avoidant personality disorder and rejection sensitive dysphoria. This week, I want to encourage you to see that you can take steps to gain control over your fear of feedback by battling self-criticism.
The first article, When Your Toughest Conversations Are the Ones You Have with Yourself, discusses how many top leaders and managers that have built successful departments and teams by building an environment centered on practicing and providing useful and encouraging feedback to peers and staffers still struggle with self-criticism. These are people that seem the most fierce and confident, yet they succumb to imposter syndrome- the fear that they will be 'found out' by their peers as not being as knowledgable or competent as they seem. Often, this is related to perfectionism- assuming that love and respect are only earned through success. Both of these concepts are related to APD and RSD. What makes these leaders different from other individuals suffering from these issues is that "The ones who make it to the top learn to deal with the universal voice of self-doubt head-on" (Fox).
I want to point out the operative word: learn. In spite of their inner voice, these leaders actively seek out insight for strategies of conducting difficult conversations with others and make it part of their work culture. They meet the fear of feedback head-on not just by applying techniques for combatting self-criticism, but they use these effective strategies to train their brains to talk to themselves with the same understanding and empathy that they have developed in their work culture.
The second article is a technique for combatting self-criticism that the author Joel Almeida calls "REBS, short for reality-based self-congratulation." I'd like to point out that although Almeida claims that he has done extensive scientific research, there is no link to any studies in this article or on his personal website. I do think his concepts are worth considering because they encourage mindfulness and build a habit of consciously articulating self-positive thoughts when you succeed instead of just articulating self-critical thoughts when you fail. This way, you have a bank of positive thoughts to anchor yourself from spiraling out of control each time you feel the need to criticize your own actions.
Once we build connections between how we give feedback to ourselves and how we participate in providing feedback to others we can build the empathy necessary to seek out practical feedback on our own projects and efforts and learn how to give substantive feedback to others.
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