Why is feedback sometimes a waste of time?
“I am never going to ever find a mate” sobbed the gangly male ostrich as he wallowed pitifully on the dusty ground of the bird exhibit.
“Stop crying!” squawked the majestic male peacock in the neighboring enclosure. “The reason why your lady friends are not chasing after you is because of your pathetic and ugly feathers. Dust yourself off, groom yourself more, and let your feathers shine!”
In that moment, the proud peacock flashed his shimmering tail feathers, and then was alarmingly flocked by all the females in his pen.
“Nonsense…. don’t listen to that peacock” shuddered the yellow-eyed osprey. The apex predator’s eyes shifted to and fro in search for its next prey. “If you want a mate, you need to prove that you are a skilled hunter! After all, the way to a mate’s heart is through her stomach!”
And in a flash, the osprey nosedived to the ground and triumphantly clutched a juicy rat in its long talons.
“All of you are so barbaric!” chirped the songbird. A whole flock of female birds surrounded him as he serenaded them with his sing-song voice. “The way to a woman’s heart is through your song! If you stop hissing and start singing, young ostrich, you too may find yourself a mate or… two” winked the charming songbird.
The young ostrich warily picked himself up and spent the rest of the hot afternoon dusting off his feathers. But not a single female ostrich looked his way. Even when he skillfully tracked down a stray lizard and awkwardly stomped it to death, all of the other females hissed repulsively at his mangled meal offering. And even when he tried to serenade them with his singing, all the females ended up burying their heads deep into the ground. No matter what advice he listened to, none of it seem to work for him.
For feedback is often advice that has worked for the one who gives it. But it may not always work for the one who receives it; especially if they are a completely different person.
