The struggle is real, and it happens to all of us.
I recently joined Masterclass. I love listening to people’s stories about how they got to where they are now. What happened along the way -usually a happy accident; an unexpected event. Did they have any ‘aha’ moments? What did they learn?
I am all ears!
One of the things that caught my attention watching the different topics and talks was that every single speaker would at some point talk about how they still feel lack of confidence, vulnerability, self doubt, insecurity. These are people that ‘have made it’. They are very successful. Masters of their crafts! But hey, it turns they are humans too.
There is no doubt that all businesses, no matter how big or small or successful, they all have their challenges at different levels. We all have to overcome doubt, insecurity, imposter syndrome or lack of confidence at some point(s) of the journey.
These are some of the take aways I have noted, in case you are going through a similar phase and you needed to hear this today.
Dealing with Imposter Syndrome. This is something that affects a lot of us creatives, but it can surface for anybody in any job position. It is an internal experience of believing that you are not as competent as others perceive you to be. You feel like sooner or later the world will find out you are not as good as they thought! The antidote for this is to master your craft. Identify where you feel you are lacking and study! Become an expert.
Find the lesson. If you have a ‘difficult client’, a poor performance, if you are not achieving the results that you expected, or received the feedback that you wanted, that can take a toll on your confidence….Instead of dwelling into negative feelings, like shame, guilt or ‘not good enough’…ask yourself, what is the lesson I need to learn at this moment? Perhaps you need to improve your communication, update your terms and conditions, set better boundaries, review your process. Put the punishing stick away and use this as a great opportunity to refine, tweak and improve your products and services.
Celebrate your wins. Very often we stay in the struggle and overlook all our achievements. Celebrate all the good, big and small. This may look like having a reward after you achieved a goal, sharing with pride that great testimonial you just received…Notice the achievements, the things you are doing well. This will fuel your energy and help you build your confidence.
Offer great service. Nobody can shame you for offering good service and doing your best. You have heard this before but it is SO TRUE. People forget what you did for them or what you said, but they never forget how you made them feel. I learned this lesson very early on my journey as a family photographer. My clients often tell me that when they look at the images I created for them they remember enjoying being photographed. And those photos would end up framed on the wall because they are linked to a positive emotion. Where do you think they’d end up if they brought memories of poor service instead?
‘Make your mess your message’, Robin Roberts. I listened to her Masterclass with great interest. She talks about turning that THING we are immersed in that makes us vulnerable or that difficult experience we are going through, into a productive and helpful message to benefit others. Not only you will be embracing your authentic self and let others see it, but you may even find out that what you thought it was your weakness it is in fact a strength.
Surround yourself with the right people. If I had to pick only one thing from this Newsletter to keep, this would be it. I am extremely fortunate to have a great circle of women around me. Women that are honest, that have great work ethics and that value community over competition. We care about others and we are always ready to put our thinking hats on to help one another. We also keep each other accountable. It really takes a Village and I’d encourage you to find yours (it is also way more fun than doing it all alone!).
Do you have any other take aways to share on the topic? I’d love to hear them. Drop a comment below and let’s keep the conversation going.
Big Love,
Ana x
