It is not that type of blog, C is confidence and being even more specific C is for career confidence.
50% of women say that they would be further along in their career if they had more self-belief, and 25% say their lack of confidence stems from the playground (source – The Guardian).
These findings are mirrored by research by the ILM who found 50% of women report feelings of self-doubt about their performance and their careers (2015).
Through my work I would say the figures are even higher.
Confidence is all about perceptions and feelings, if we don’t feel we can do something we don’t do it. We can attribute our feelings to lots of things – how we look, our qualifications (or lack of them), or family, our experiences, society. The list goes on!
The more I work with women the more I feel a personal mission to empower them to believe in themselves.
My passion comes from the fact that although outwardly I usually appear confident this has been my biggest struggle and it stems back to childhood.
The sunny, happy and outgoing little girl was replaced by a gnarly teen who had bad hair and never thought she was thin / pretty / clever enough to do so many things.
My lack of confidence was the cloak I wore when I didn’t start my own business or didn’t ask for a pay rise. I used it to make excuses for my inaction and I was the only one suffering.
What have you not done because of your confidence?
How does that make you feel?
So, what can you start doing to improve your confidence?
Work on it. Every day. Be aware of how different things make you feel and what your triggers are.
Commit to making small changes and taking action, action equals power and purpose. Even if it is a tiny step – an email, a phone call, a hello to someone you don’t know it is the start of the process.
What else can you do?
– Identify your negative self-talk and change it
– Change your limiting beliefs
– Build a social support network
– Use empowering language
– Step out of your comfort zone
– Celebrate your success
In my video I talk about further techniques you can use to become more confident, click here to watch.
