What would I try if I trusted myself a little more?
Quiet confidence. Confidence tends to follow action rather than come before it, so waiting to feel confident keeps you where you are. Harsh self-talk can feel like it keeps your standards high, but research on self-compassion suggests it mostly makes people more afraid of failing and less willing to try again.
Sound familiar?
Tap any that sound like you.
Try one this week
Start an evidence file10 min
- Create a folder or note called “Evidence”.
- Add three things you have done that you once thought you could not do.
- Add any kind message, good mark or thank-you you have received recently.
- Each Friday, add one new item, however small.
- Open it before anything that makes you nervous.
Talk to yourself like a friend10 min
- Write down a recent moment when you were hard on yourself, including the exact words you used.
- Write what you would say to a close friend in the same situation.
- Compare the two and note the difference in tone.
- Rewrite your original self-talk in the friend's voice and read it once out loud.
One small stretch5 min
- Choose one action this week that is slightly beyond comfortable: ask a question in a meeting, share a draft early or apply for something.
- Decide exactly when you will do it.
- Do it before you feel ready.
- Afterwards, write one line on what happened and how it compared with what you feared.