Confidence

Are you waiting for confidence to arrive before doing that thing you want to do?

Here's an uncomfortable but liberating truth:

Most of us have got it backwards. You've got to do the thing first and THEN the confidence arrives.

It takes bravery, or foolery, or both. But you've got to do the thing before you feel ready. Uncomfortable? Yes. It means the ownice is back on you to take the first step now. Liberating? Oh yes. Because it means you have the power to create the life you want right now. No one else is holding the key. It's firmly sitting in the (now sweaty) palm of your hand.

On the weekend, my 10 year old daughter, Sophia, did a high ropes course with her girl guide group. She was one of the youngest in the group. When she came to the more advanced and higher section of the course, she freaked out a little. She noticed the other girls moving through it with a confidence that she just didn't feel. She froze. One of the older girls hung back with her to offer encouragement and support.

Sophia said, "you guys are all so brave! I wish I was as brave as you". Juliet responded, "you are braver because you're scared and you're still doing it". Truth!

What scares you? When a client tells me they're scared of something, I know that's a clue about the direction their soul wants to go in. A couple of months ago, a client who was thinking about her next career move told me she was scared of going for a leadership position. She didn't feel ready.

"What do you need to feel ready?", I asked. She told me all the things you and I would say. More time and experience working her way up within an organisation, a mentor...but ultimately it came down to confidence.

And then she did the thing before she felt ready. She accepted a job in a new company and in a leadership position. The night before she started, she didn't feel ready.

She is 2 weeks into her new job now and her confidence is growing.

You've got to do the thing first and THEN the confidence arrives.