In one study, participants were pre-screened for indicators of general happiness. Then they were formed into teams of four to solve puzzles in a relay competition. After playing a little while, researchers gave them artificial feedback, such as another team had one, or giving individuals a low ranking within their team.
"People who, earlier in the study, had scored in the lowest 25 percent on measures of happiness - that is, those folks who were naturally less happy to begin with - tended to take the social comparison feedback hard, and felt depressed or dejected." - Ed Diener
Gotta confess that criticism sets me back more than it should, when it's something I should be thankful for. I mean, when I struggle to lift an average amount of weight in the gym I don't get down, I see it as progress since resistance eventually leads to success. Why must it be any different in relationships? The learning's a little trickier - it takes study of what just happened in order to mine the lessons, and focus to prevent backsliding. The other part is dropping the ego and replacing it with the peace of our own personal purpose, and the greater good.
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