Feedback
Fallow

Noun. A dedicated period of professional stillness where the cycle of seeking, giving, and receiving feedback is intentionally paused to allow for the restoration of “learning soil” and the integration of past insights.

Seeding vs. Stillness

Blazing Through

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Desiccated Soil
The habit of “cramming” feedback and information without adoption. Effort is transactional, focused on volume over depth.

Result: Superficial growth.

Feedback Fallow

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Fertile Rest
Intentionally slowing down to “squeeze every drop” from existing insights. Allowing the nervous system to process and adopt new behaviors.

Result: Sustainable change.

The Fallacy of Infinite Growth

Modern corporate culture and traditional economists often push for constant, infinite growth. However, trying to seed “desiccated soil” by constantly seeking new feedback without time to absorb it leads to exhaustion, not improvement. Just as fields are left unseeded for a season to restore soil health, professional growth requires periods of being.

Cultivating Fertile Ground

For those primarily in the position of giving feedback, a fallow period might mean intentionally pausing on new critiques for a colleague who has already received a high volume of input. This shift allows space for existing improvements to blossom and for the giver to witness and reinforce positive changes.

Squeezing Every Drop

For feedback receivers, it is often far easier to gather new critiques than it is to slow down and practice what has already been received. By informing your feedback givers that you are actively working on past insights, you create the necessary Feedback Fallow period required to turn information into wisdom.

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