There are people less qualified than you, doing the things you want to do, simply because they believed in themselves and took action
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I happened upon this quote recently as I was scrolling the socials and it made me pause and nod in agreement.
It wasn’t new to me, I’d definitely seen it before… but it caused me to stop the rapid page flicking momentarily to ponder.
It reminded me of two key principles I know to be true –
- You’re already way more qualified than you think and you (probably) don’t need another degree or qualification, and
- The greatest piece of advice I could ever give you about designing a career you love is, back yourself and take action.
How we end up not believing in ourselves?
I don’t remember exactly when it happened but somewhere in the early years of my career, I became filled with self-doubt. I know I didn’t start that way because I landed my first professional role after university by big-noting myself to a Finance executive at a Christmas party.
It most likely crept in over the following years. Based on feedback I was given, not meeting my own expectations, experiencing disappointments or “failures” along the way. Each little moment or setback chips away at your self-belief.
Self-doubt is a downward spiral. Your inner voice goes into overdrive – you can’t do it, you’ll never be any good, you’ll definitely fail! And, when you lose confidence and stop believing in yourself… guess what else happens? Others stop believing in you too. And down into the self-trash-talk sink hole you disappear.
Lack of self-belief often takes years to develop. That’s why you might reflect back and not be able to find that point between your “confident 20s” and your “questioning everything 30s, 40s or 50s”, when you slipped from one state to the other.
How to restore your self-belief & reclaim your confidence
1. RECOGNISE IT’S ABOUT CHOICES
This might be a tough one to hear but… self-doubt is a choice. Yes, really. And the good news is you can start to fix things by making another choice to assess and identify what’s good about you.
2. OPINIONS AREN’T FACTS
Somewhere along the line you’ve absorbed an opinion that’s caused you to think less of yourself. An opinion is just someone’s point of view and even those offered with the best of intentions don’t necessarily reflect reality. Not everyone is going to totally understand you… and that’s ok.
3. PROGRESS OVER PERFECTION
It’s time to stop worrying about not being perfect. Accept that sometimes things will be messy, or you might stuff things up, or get them wrong. This is true for everyone! In the same way other’s opinions are often not truth, often your expectations are the same. They’re just thoughts and you can make a choice to disregard them.
4. RELEASE YOUR FEARS
Your self-doubt could be rooted in fear. Fear is intimidating but it also gives clues about what you should be doing. There’s so much value in uncovering what you fear most. You might not be able to eliminate your fears, but you can create a plan to move past them.
5. YOU ARE UNIQUE & VALUABLE
If you’re full of self-doubt you probably won’t believe this, but I want to share it with you anyway… the recipe of knowledge, experiences, strengths and skills that you have is entirely unique to you. No-one else has quite the same blend. This makes you an exclusive “category of one”. It’s time to step into your spotlight!
Making the choice to arrest the spiral of self-doubt is crucial to making progress and achieving career success.
But sometimes it’s a tough thing to do on your own. I’d love to provide you with the objectivity and support you need to uncover your unique value and design a career based on who you are and what’s important to you. Let’s chat about the right next steps for you.