The Confidence Switch

March 7, 2021

Today we’re going to talk about how to instantly shift from fear and self-doubt to unstoppable confidence.

Kind of like flipping on a light switch. 

Most of us don’t think about it that way.

We think we just feel the way we feel about something – like a scary new opportunity that’s in front of us or like a job we’ve kind of lost interest in – and we think that thing is causing us to feel the way we feel.

That there’s nothing we can do about it. 

That it just is what it is.

But that’s not true. 

And that’s what I want to talk about today. Because Spring is coming and it’s a time of growth and renewal. 

A time of possibilities for trying fresh new things.  

But I’ve noticed that for many of my coaching clients, trying new things – thing they might not have tried before, might be fearful of or whatever – is really scary.

And many of them will do whatever it takes to avoid them.

But it doesn’t have to be that way. We can summon the courage or the confidence in an instant when we need to. I can show you how.

So, in honor of my dog Umbro and the new things that Spring might bring, I want to share with you a powerful tool I use in my coaching practice called “The Confidence Switch.”

Let’s dive in.

As we go through our careers, we’re going to be presented with new opportunities.

Promotions.

New jobs.

Starting a business.

And those new things will mean we have to show up in a way that’s new. 

We must put ourselves out there in a new way.

Channel a part of ourselves that maybe we haven’t used before.

Or maybe we’ve tried in the past and it didn’t work so well.

So, when we’re faced with those things, some will muster the courage to try it. But most of us will struggle. 

We might be excited about it. But dread it too.

We might obsess about it. 

Worry about it.

Many of us might even decide to avoid it. To NOT do that new thing because it’s just too scary.

Have you ever said no to opportunity?

Have you ever had a burning desire to do something – maybe start a new business or go for that big new job – and then talked yourself out of it?

If so, why?

Have you ever really considered the reason you might say no to new things?

For most of us, it’s about fear of some kind.

Fear of judgment. 

Fear of failure.

Even fear of success.

Notice how all those types of fear have one thing in common.

It’s about what others might think about you.

Probably also a bit about how YOU’LL think about you.

The issue here is that you’re letting your own fear, insecurity, self-doubt convince you that you’ll be judged. That you might fail.

So, you tell yourself it’s too dangerous a thing to try. 

That you’re not up to the task.

That you should stay in the cave where it’s safe.

And listen, I get it. 

As I’ve talked about before, I spent years – actually decades – of my career avoiding public speaking. 

The thought of standing up on stage and having hundreds of pairs of eyes staring at me while I try to remember what I intended to say…it was just too much.

I had some early experiences in my career in front of smaller groups – say several dozen people – and let’s just say, I didn’t distinguish myself. Well, not in a good way anyway.

I look back on some of those early experiences and I cringe thinking about how bad I did.

The dry throat. The long pauses. 

It wasn’t pretty.

And then one day, it changed. And today, I’m going to talk about how. And, how you can use this same tool, which I call “The Confidence Switch.”

I hope you enjoy it.

The Confidence Switch | The Purposeful Career

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