You might have noticed that we have a tendency to bat away praise or complements we receive. On the other hand taking to heart anything that seems like a criticism, and while getting distracted by our feelings of hurt, actually missing the useful information that was contained in the feedback.

Surely this is the wrong way round? Of course criticism is difficult and we are trained to be defensive and try to protect ourselves. Perhaps there is a better way: The Smart Bubble is a visualisation is designed to help us more skilfully handle feedback. One might say it is a structured way of learning to manage feedback mindfully.

This visualisation is inspired by the (much more complicated and rather brilliant) ‘Strategy for Responding to Criticism’ by Steve and Connirea Andreas.

The recording below was made at a recent workshop with some young people. It starts with brief explanation that sets things up and follows with a guided imagery. The whole thing is just 13 minutes long.