4 Tricks for Finding Confidence Even When You Are Afraid

Is there something you really want to try or do, but you’ve psyched yourself out? Have you stopped yourself because you worry the odds are stacked against you? 

Do you want to give it – and yourself -- a shot? Here’s how:

Manage your mind
Stop psyching yourself out. When you see an opportunity you’d like to try for don’t whisper, “I don’t think I can,” or “she’ll be so much better than I,” into your inside ear. 

Instead, consider some of the challenges you’ve faced in your life, whether that was marshalling up the guts to talk with someone outside your normal circle of acquaintances, putting your hat in the ring for a challenging job, or raising a child on your own. Yes, it was hard, but yes, you did it.  

If you’ve achieved results in one arena, you can accomplish goals in another. Change your self-talk and tell yourself, “When I put my mind to something, I’m able to make it happen.”

Act the part
If you’re having a difficult time growing confidence from the inside out, grow it from the outside in. Is there a risk you want to take? Take a step toward that risk, and then another one.  In Beating the Workplace Bully I wrote “think what a brave person would do and become that brave person.” Act as if you have confidence and soon you’ll begin to wonder, “why did I think this was outside of my ability?”

Change how you view the risk of failure
Do you know what you want to do, yet fear failure? Maybe it’s time to reassess what trying and failing means. When you take risks that don’t work out, you gain experience and learn from your mistakes. If you keep trying despite obstacles, you’ll discover strength and talents you didn’t know you had.  Once you try, you’re no longer the same person you were before you started; you’ve changed yourself into a person more likely to succeed in the future. Best of all, risk-taking, even if you fail, teaches you to conquer your fear.

Commit to yourself
Is there something you’d like to try for, but you hesitate? Stop underestimating your ability to handle what might happen if you try and don’t succeed. You’ll simply need to try again. Stop selling yourself short.  Challenge your doubts. Is there something you’d like to try or try for? Go for it.

 

 

 

 

 

© 2016, Lynne Curry, professional coach and author of Solutions and Beating the Workplace Bully. Follow her on Twitter @lynnecurry10 or on workplaceocoachblog.com.