The Relationship Between Speed and Forgiveness

Like most of you, I am a human, which means on some days I take constructive feedback well, and on other days I find myself defensive when receiving feedback. Sometimes feedback goes down rather smooth, and other times it feels like chewing on raw, dry broccoli. But I've noticed that in the last few weeks, my eagerness for feedback has grown and my defensiveness around feedback has shrunk. This is not due to some spiritual epiphany or enlightenment in me, but rather due to the environmental conditions I find myself in.

In a fast-paced environment where decisions come quickly and mental acuity is paramount, defensiveness impedes necessary progress and clouds judgment. When we are forced to move fast, somehow it seems more possible to assume a self-forgiving, open-hearted posture to our mistakes because we simply don't have the luxury of stewing on things. Once we’re out of this state of emergency, will our egos and defensiveness have more room to show up again? I wonder if there is a way to insert this “buffer of grace” into moments of less urgency.