Just like how Nature teaches everyone, Nature is also constantly teaching me too; sometimes even through people. And there are times when my mentor helps me see the lessons. 

Now, the problem is, as much as I seek the opinions of others, when I get their feedback, I have a hard time accepting it. Like today, I was taught a valuable lesson on giving my opinions when it is clearly not asked for or required. As much as I knew my mentor had his best intentions at heart, in the beginning, I was having trouble listening because my mind wasn’t open enough. 

One of my habits is easily getting guilty so my subconscious mind tried that a bit. It also tried making me seem like I was the victim of the situation, which I clearly was not; it was all in my head. So how did I try my best to snap out of it? I tried taking deep breaths and reminded myself that everyone here has my best intentions at heart and that no one was finding fault with me. And eventually, I was okay and listening to the whole thing.

See, no one was criticising me yet I felt like the whole world was against me. It’s a simple trick the sub uses to make you lose sight of the lesson you’re learning. The sub isn’t to be blamed, you just need to learn to manage the situation. 

Another thing about criticism that I don’t handle too well is when people give me ways to improve myself. I blame it on my insecurities, that I don’t accept what they said because they don’t actually know what they’re talking about.

But let’s look at it in a different way. If everything that happens to you is a lesson from Nature, then clearly whoever you’re facing, no matter how nonsensical it is, there must be a reason why the situation is happening. SIEP helps in this case; helps you look for the lesson Nature is trying to teach you. It could be as simple as a way to improve yourself further, or a more complex situation like how you manage your emotions in that situation.

Criticism isn’t a bad thing, people give it with the intention of helping you. Although, it may not seem that way when you’re at the other end. One extremely valuable lesson I’m learning is to not inputting my opinion without it being sought out. It would annoy people if I just bud in and give my feedback on something I was never asked to do or a field I have no expertise in, I’d be giving unnecessary feedback. It’s a valuable lesson as I catch myself volunteering my opinion. It gets me to watch my thoughts before they leave my mouth. I am grateful for the lesson Nature is teaching me, it’s something I would have never figured out on my own, and thanks to my mentor’s help, I’m learning.

– Heerraa