Q I have always thought of myself as being confident. I started a new job and I’m on a steep learning curve. I find myself holding back and doubting myself. What can I do to get my confidence back?
A You are not alone. Even the most experienced people lack confidence from time to time, and starting a new job is a definite test of self-confidence.
Self-confidence is a feeling of trust in one’s abilities, qualities and judgment. Stating “I want to be more confident at work” is too vague; confident at what exactly?
To give your self-confidence a boost, answer the following questions with your new job in mind:
Why is being more confident important to you?
Make a list of the areas in which you aren’t feeling confident.
Look at that list, pick the top three areas that would make the biggest difference overall in raising your confidence.
How will you know you are more confident in these areas?
What will and/or won’t happen as a result of you being more confident?
What resources are needed?
Have you ever had or done this before or do you know anybody who has?
What are three to five actions you can take on a consistent basis that will give you the biggest results in the least time?
When you start taking action, act as if you already have all the confidence you need!
Once you have started seeing results in your chosen areas, you can move to others. Before long, you will be back to your usual confident self and feeling great about who you are and the work you do.