This weekend I had a conversation with someone about confidence; specifically, confidence at work. However, I think it could be applied to all areas of our lives. We were talking about my job search and I told him I felt like I was unqualified for most of the jobs that I was applying for. I told him I’d always felt like one day the veil would be pulled back and people would realize that I’m not smart, I’m not capable and, basically, that I would be failure.
Don’t we all feel like that in some area of our lives? That we’re just going to fail? That we’re not good enough? I know I do, and way too much.
He’s done well working his way up the ladder in a short amount of time, and he told me that for him it’s all about confidence. It’s about how no matter how many times you mess up or how many times you’re unsure of yourself, you charge forward with confidence that you can do anything and eventually you will convince both those around you and yourself of the same. Basically, “fake it till you make it.”
This afternoon I’m volunteering with a legal aid clinic and, honestly, I’m really nervous. It’s my first time working on my own, rather than shadowing, which I’d done back in May. I’m nervous that I’m going to mess up, that I’m going to look silly or incompetent, that I’m going to fail. But walking in with that kind of attitude isn’t going to get me anywhere. If I walk in feeling like I’m going to fail, then I’m probably going to fail.
So today I’m going to fake it until I make it. I’m going to walk in with confidence that I know what I’m doing (which in all honesty I do), that I’ve done this a million times, and that whoever I’m working with probably isn’t as concerned with how silly I look or feel, but is much more concerned with whatever issue they’re dealing with.
I challenge all of you to do the same this week: in some area of your life that you feel uncertain about, that you might be a failure, fake it. Convince yourself and those around you that you are confident and capable; that you can do anything you set your mind to.
Does anyone else ever feel this way?
How do you gain confidence?