When I was graduating high school and preparing for college, my dad told me, “this is how life works. You get to the top of the ladder and then you have to start over.”
As a high school senior, I’d hit the top of that ladder. Going to college meant starting over. Being a Freshman again. No expertise or authority.
When I graduated college and started my first full-time job, the same was true. No expertise or authority.
Those early professional days can be a real test of confidence…and for most of us, those tests keep coming. Get a promotion? You’ve got new things to learn. Growing your business? Lots of new things to learn! Starting a new job? Launching a business? Going back to school? There are so many times when we’re starting on a new ladder.
I remember a few years ago, talking with an old friend who had just started a business. I asked him if he’d gotten past the point of being terrified all the time, yet. He hadn’t. I got to assure him that he will, and that the fear is a natural part of the process.
Almost everyone feels confident when they’re at the top of the ladder; when they’ve got subject matter expertise. What about the times when you’re not the expert? Do you believe that your confidence is linked to that expertise?
So how do you recognize the experience you have when you’re starting something new? Let’s tap into the confidence that you’re probably overlooking in the moment when the fear of starting something new is really loud.
Take a moment to reflect on a time when you started something new. It can be as far back or as recent as you want.
What was it like before you started?
Can you remember when you started to feel like you knew what you were doing?
How about when you started to feel really good, like you had expertise and authority?
Repeat this a few times with a few different scenarios where you started something new.
Remind your brain of all of the times that you built confidence even though it was unfamiliar and scary.
Let these data points guide you into whatever new thing you’re starting.
The confidence was there all along, it’s just sometimes the fear is louder and we revert back to the desire for expertise. Bring that hidden confidence to the forefront anytime the fear tries to hide it.
