Project 25, Post. No. 13: Confidence
You want to know something funny?
A dear friend today requested a post about confidence. My initial reaction?
Oh, I don’t know if I’m qualified to talk about that.
And yet (as I approach my three year anniversary at my current job) I’d be willing to bet that marked in the “things Clare does good” column would be “confidence.”
The confidence gap is real, even in a profession dominated by women and type A personalities with a lot to say (guilty of both). So what’s the secret to performing under pressure, with grace?
Here are 5 ways to be more confident:
1) Know your stuff. Do your research, but not too much. Colin Powell made decisions only using 40 to 70 percent of the information needed - and he waged wars. Too little and you’re unprepared, too much and you’re overwhelmed.
2) Practice resolve. I’ve seen a lot of people - in PR, life and beyond - crumble at the thought of failure. You know what? You’re going to fail. Every day. The trick is to be able to learn and recover. So calm down.
3) Treat yourself like you would a friend. “Be kind to yourself!” is my least favorite Instagram adage. Screw being kind to yourself, if you’re in the mindset of hating yourself already, that won’t change anything. But if you treat yourself the way you’d treat a friend by encouraging in a way that’s gentle, truthful and compassionate - well that’s constructive.
4) Use the internet wisely. You know what you’re using right now? The internet. It’s wonderful, and a resource for ways to inspire confidence. You could read blogs like Lisa Poulsen’s Advice for PR Girls, follow Levo League or air out your insecurities on Secret.
5) Screw up. Yep, mistakes are good for you! It’s easy to think of confidence as a medal you win, one that’s taken away from you the second you say “um” in front of a crowd. That’s false - confidence is a muscle. And do you know what happens when you build muscle? After your weight session, your muscles develop micro-tears that then heal to not just replace the torn tissue, but build on top of it.
Hope those are helpful tips, folks. And if you’d be so kind - please consider donating to clean water!
[Give today.](stayclassy.org/25reasons)