When you want to explore your career: 5 ways to know what makes you believe in yourself
In our last installment of exploring your career, we will focus on what makes us believe in ourselves — what skills, knowledge, or activities inspire confidence in ourselves.
We all have strengths — those skills and abilities that we like doing and feel we are good at doing — but what makes us truly believe in ourselves? We may feel we are good at strategy and even enjoy doing it but do we believe that we excel at this? Are we so confident that we tell others and add “strategy” as a skill to our profile?
People can get caught in a condition called imposter syndrome. This is where we may think we are good at something but lack the confidence to say so or truly believe it internally. We may start to ask ourselves a series of questions, such as: “Why would anyone talk to me about that strategy?” “Am I good enough to contribute to that meeting?” “Am I smart enough to analyze that data?” “Am I persuasive enough to influence their way of thinking?”
Imposter syndrome can rob us of opportunity. Period. It is self-limiting thinking that can shake us to our cores if we believe the questions and statements that tend to center around….am I enough — smart enough, insightful enough, analytical enough, strong enough, valuable enough, etc.
We are enough. We are enough in whatever we do, but we are especially enough when we think about what makes us confident. This is not to say that you shouldn’t pursue an area where you are not confident. I truly believe that confidence can be developed through practice, experience, and the proper mindset. Confidence comes more from action than from thinking.
I have an important note about confidence and that sneaky imposter syndrome. Who we interact with and what our environment is like can significantly influence the confidence we have (or don’t have) in ourselves. Going back to our values, making sure you are e operating within a team and organization that aligns with your values is critical to ensuring your sense of confidence is shored up and not torn down.
I have worked in environments where I started to doubt myself and my abilities. No amount of journaling or inspirational videos made me feel any better. This happens, more than likely, when you are living and working outside of your value system. We soar when we are aligned; we fall when we are mismatched. Values and beliefs work hand in hand; it is essential to watch these factors.
By now, you have your values, strengths, and energy boosters listed in your career exploration. The final step is thinking about what gives us confidence. Here are 5 ways to think about what inspires us and makes us believe in ourselves:
Record your successes.
If you’re not really sure what you feel confident in, record your successes or achievements for one week. Funny how we don’t note what we have achieved in a week; most of us tend to focus on the one thing that went wrong. “Success” is a subjective term. Any accomplishment, any checkmark next to a task, or any step toward your goals is a success. These can be small (and should be small): I lost two pounds, I worked out four times this week, I meditated twice, I made my deadline, I helped a friend, I assisted a customer, I facilitated a great meeting, I produced a report with 100% accuracy, I didn’t lose it when pressed during a meeting, I closed a new deal. Whatever your successes are, write them down and reflect after a few weeks. Patterns will emerge. Seeing your successes will breed confidence and belief in your abilities.
Ask for opinions.
Asking others what they think about you and what you’re confident in can lead you to discover those skills and abilities. I am always surprised when I ask others what they think about where I shine. Some thoughts align with what I believe, but there are always others that I never really thought about or knew. A few years ago, I had a colleague tell me how I could cut through the noise and determine simple actions we could take. I never thought about that. I guess that is what I do, but I never held that up as a strength, let alone something I should feel most confident about — the primary skill I should call out in my profile. However, after some reflection and asking others, I have come to believe that I do excel at this. What would others say you exude confidence about? Find out and ask others.
Note compliments.
If you don’t ask people what they think, pay attention to what people compliment you on. What have you heard unsolicited? “What a great presentation!” “You have a knack for reporting the numbers!” “You always bring such a positive outlook to every meeting.” “You can anticipate what our customers want.” Listen for these things. If people feel strongly about something, they will share it. Don’t blow off the compliment. I can be famous for this. I can get trapped in that imposter syndrome and think they are just being nice. Nonsense. People don’t usually fake compliments. They don’t have to say anything. If they choose to say something, believe it.
Get into an inspirational mindset.
I mentioned that confidence comes from action; however, having the right mindset can also be helpful. Having belief and confidence can be brought about through inspiration. What inspires you? Is it a person? A quote? A movie? A book or story? A piece of music? Specific acts of kindness? Think about what inspires you — these things may also give you energy and align with your values too! So, go back and look at your journals from the other weeks. For me, I love quotes. I have many pinned to my corkboard and hanging on my wall. I look at them daily to find inspiration. Moving stories about overcoming all obstacles also inspire me. People are pretty amazing. Listening or reading to get into an inspiration mindset can help you find your belief and move you to take action to live it.
Determine where to spend your time.
After recording your successes, asking others, and getting into an inspirational mindset, you should be able to know what gives you confidence —what makes you believe in yourself. If not, or if you feel your list should be longer, ask yourself: “What would you like to become more confident in?” As I mentioned before, confidence can be acquired with action and mindset. Identify these areas and set a plan to develop and practice skills, find a mentor or coach, join a group, solicit feedback to improve and build confidence. If you want to be a more confident presenter, join Toastmasters. If you want to be a stronger data storyteller, take a course, find an expert, and hone those skills. Mastery will also breed confidence.
Your career path is your journey. There are no formulas, but there are four areas to journal about, investigate, discover and solidify for yourself: Values, Strengths, Energy, and Belief. When you have this level of self-awareness, you will be well equipped to reach clarity about your career path and destinations. I write “destinations” on purpose. We may have many spokes off of our path and many different roles and experiences along our career path. These various branches make our life’s work rich, exciting, and impactful.
Spend time on self-reflection. You have all the tools you need to discover your path. What better time to do this than at the end of 2021 — a challenging year two of an unusual time. Figure out what matters to you and live in alignment, harmony, and peace.