We all experience feelings of self-doubt from time to time – both in our personal as well as professional lives. However, these feelings can unfortunately hold us back from reaching our full potential, whether it’s taking on a new personal challenge, or applying for a promotion at work.
Therefore, Ed Johnson, CEO of online mentoring and career progression platform, PushFar, has shared some top tips for how we can improve our self-confidence and banish that niggling feeling of doubt for good!
1. Say ‘yes’ more
It’s always tempting to turn down opportunities where we have a fear of failing. However, turning down these opportunities holds you back from new experiences that could be wonderful for you.
No matter how scary opportunities may seem, make a conscious effort to say ‘yes’ more, and once you do, you’ll start to look forward to new opportunities that come your way.
2. Set realistic goals
Whether it’s personal or professional goals you’re aiming for, setting specific goals for yourself can help you to overcome self-doubt. Make sure that you set both short-term and long-term goals, so that you can see the progress you’re making early on.
By making these goals realistic and timely, you’ll feel that the goals are more within your reach, and in turn, increase your confidence in achieving them. The feeling of accomplishing these will then set you up with further confidence to keep reaching for more goals too!
3. Meet new people
Although striking up conversations with strangers can seem a daunting experience, it’s a great way to gain confidence in yourself, as well as to learn from others – especially in a professional capacity.
If you feel nervous, you can even start by dipping your toe in the water by signing-up for online events and working your way up to an in-person event in your local area.
4. Find a mentor
While confidence is not something that can be taught, finding a good mentor can really help you to overcome any self-doubt you have.
We’re often very tough on ourselves, and a mentor can be great at reminding you of your successes, championing you, and helping you to believe in yourself.
Having someone that you can turn to, talk things through with, and learn from, can help us to feel more prepared and therefore confident taking on whatever challenge it may be!
5. Learn a new skill
Learning a new skill can vastly improve how you feel about yourself, and help you to overcome any self-doubt. And it doesn’t have to be a huge task – choose a skill that you have an existing interest in, so that it feels enjoyable. It could be anything from a new creative hobby to learning new computer skills.
6. Find a supportive network
Ensuring you have supportive people around you is a great way to help tackle self-doubt. If you’re feeling like that support is missing from your current network, consider other methods to build this for yourself. A great way to do this is to find a mentor who has similar experiences to you and can provide support and guidance when you need it most. And while a mentor’s role is not to provide exact ‘answers’, they can help to guide you on the path that is right for you.
If you’re on the hunt for a mentor, or are looking for career progression tips and tricks, visit www.pushfar.com where you can also sign up for free training sessions each month.
