Self-Improvement is the cornerstone of a happy and productive career. You want to grow, you want to expand, you want to learn. Each lesson, each new technique, each new degree is a thrill as you grow and expand.
There are many barriers to self-Improvement. But one of the most insidious ones is a lack of self-trust.
It's insidious because:
- It's easy to miss. A lack of self-trust can be hard to notice, or can disguise itself as "realism" or "high goals" or something similar.
- It's incredibly infectious. Being so well-disgused, a lack of self-trust can infiltrate every area of your life – not just your career. It can bring your entire life down, not just one or two aspects.
- It can build over time. Each time you fail to grow, your lack of self-trust gets worse. This in turn . . . makes it hard to grow.
So if you're going to grow into your career, you're going to need to trust yourself, just as surely as you need to trust other people. I usually find that these are the signs of a lack of self-trust:
- Lack of trust in others. We tend to project our own issues on to others. If you can't trust others, if it's pathological, it may mean you can't trust yourself.
- A sense of inability. How many times do you note you can't do something, couldn't do something, or never could do something? Is that your usual mantra?
- A sense of defeatism. You feel you can't do anything anyway.
- Actual lack of self-trust. Sometimes it's just plain obvious that you don't trust yourself – you merely didn't notice it.
You're going to have to tackle your lack of self-trust to get your career in motion. And what would this column be without a bit of advice on that?
- Do something. Anything. Get a sense of achievement with some project so you can feel your own competency.
- Take risks. Slowly push yourself to do more challenging things. This way you can believe your own ability – and trustworthiness.
- Go easy on others. They're only human. In fact when you see people mess up, realize you're like they are. Empathy for others helps you empathize with yourself.
Self-growth needs self-trust. So start working on that relationship with yourself. It's the key to you succeeding.
– Steven Savage