CONFIDENCE BOOSTER No.6: Be Accurate!
THE CHALLENGE: To overcome inaccurate statements, self-talk and mindset.
My clients get to hear about this over and over because accuracy has a complex role in combating a very powerful adversary of self confidence: cognitive distortion. This may sound complicated (it is) but if I highlight the most popular forms you will know what I mean:
- Filtering – amplifying negative information while diminishing or completely excluding positives
- Polarised “black & white” thinking – leaves no room for manoeuvre for yourself & others & leaves no room for balance
- Overgeneralisation – With sparse information, creating strong opinions on a wide range of people, subjects or situations
- Rushing to assumptions – not waiting for all (or any) available information on a subject & so assumptions are drawn & decisions made in considerable ignorance
- Catastrophising – Why settle for a drama when a full blown crisis will do? This is when everything is bad even if it has happened only once. “I’m rubbish at this”, “No one likes me”, “You cannot trust anyone”, “Today was disastrous” etc etc.
EXERCISE:
It’s called tracking which is, in this context, keeping a log / diary of instances when you are inaccurate in any given situation about yourself, people, your day etc. If you are unaware of behaving in a particular way then how can you do anything about it? Just being aware of it will make a huge difference.
BEWARE: real and lasting shifts in deep seated mind set and behaviour takes hard work and consistency
Now you may be thinking that this is all a bit obvious and that calling yourself ‘useless’, for example, is merely a turn of phrase. But words have a huge significance: not only do they tell the outside world a great deal about us, but they also say much about our moods and mindset. Get control of them and they WILL begin to affect your attitudes and emotions for the better.
CONFIDENCE BOOSTER No.2: Is Failure an Option?
FAILURE IS NOT AN OPTION – IT’S PART OF THE DEAL
The fact of the matter is that if you are reading this and are a member of the human race you will make mistakes, maybe even the odd howler, I guarantee it. The secret is to accept this fact and cut yourself some slack – but I am not asking for any more or less than you would a good friend or work colleague.
THE CHALLENGE: TO RELIEVE SELF IMPOSED & UNNECESSARY PRESSURE
If you suffer with issues of self confidence (and most of us do at different times), and if you are prone to working yourself over for making mistakes, you can set yourself a whole set of unnecessary challenges:
- Reluctance to take risks
- Stifling your abilities
- Ignoring your achievements while highlighting your failures
EXERCISE: BACK YOURSELF – LOOK AT THE FACTS
- Write a memo to yourself listing your abilities, which will be a matter of public record and fact – so that not even you can dispute them. Don’t roll your eyes….do it.
- Note down your past successes – as you may well have buried them beyond normal daily recall. Get them out, dust them off and put them on display (this is for your benefit, not ours, as it will be you that cannot see them).
- Check out what some of the most successful people in history have said about failure – in particular our greatest scientists, who reached the heights of achievement through trial & ERROR – get it?
There’s nothing wrong with striving for perfection and having to make do with mere excellence. The trick is not avoiding making mistakes or failing – it is in doing so and using that stumble as a lesson & not as a source of corporal punishment!