Comments on: How do you deal with negative feedback from friends and family?

By: Carol Bontekoe

Carol Bontekoe — Fri, 30 Jan 2009 23:15:59 +0000

My parents were dissappointed that I didn’t seem to want to use my university degree after graduating. They tried to encourage me to go back for grad school or get a job in my field. I wasn’t interested. I spent a lot of time explaining to them that is I wasn’t dependent on them for money that I could do what I want. I think it’s a lot harder if you need your parents cash.
The biggest thing that got them to give me slack was saying that I was going out into the world to collect life experiences. In the long run whatever I decided to do with my life these Life experiences were going to make me a better person. Also, I got them to live the country for the first time. They came and visited me in the Netherlands. They suddenly saw how addcitive travel can be.

By: Kevin

Kevin — Sun, 25 Jan 2009 22:00:41 +0000

I leave for my 4 month backpacking trip in March and it seems like ever since I have told my friends and family, all I hear is negative comments. The big three negative criticisms is, “Why now?, wait until you have a career,” “Why do you want to spend all this money,” “What if something happens to your safety?” I try to explain why I am traveling and dispel these concerns and have a constructive conversation with family and friends who give you negative feedback, but I find this does more harm than good. You are sharing two completely view points, and for others, long term budget travel is not within their realm of reality, much of which is due to a lack of information or misinformation on their part. So how do I deal with it? I accept their positions and take it in and do not argue, joke with the negative critics, but really it is just a matter of tuning the negative feedback out. Sure I get bombarded with it everyday, but really I am doing this trip for me and not them, so I listen to it, but move forward anyways and smile knowing that I am living my life the way I want to live it.

By: » How do you deal with negative feedback from friends and family … - thegameoflove

Sat, 24 Jan 2009 11:32:47 +0000

[...] While the decision to take a round-the-world trip might be the exciting culmination of a lot of hard work and deep thought on your part, it might catch some of your friends and family off-guard. More [...]