You must believe in yourself if you want others to follow you. I don’t mean a hollow, braggadocious belief, but something with more substance. It’s not enough to have strong opinions and a high degree of self-confidence.
Self-Belief Requires Real Substance
Such qualities may make you just a blowhard. Sadly, our society is never short of these types of individuals, and they can be dangerous. Just because you think you are right doesn’t mean you are. The facts still matter; you must do the demanding work required to achieve real excellence. You must ground yourself in something more important than yourself. You must believe in what you are doing before you can fully believe in yourself.Ground Yourself in Meaning
Life is a constant search for meaning and understanding. The tragedy of many people’s lives is that they are unwilling to put themselves out there because they won’t put forth the required effort, are afraid of public scrutiny, and lack the courage of their convictions. Being the hero of your own life isn’t easy.What Genuine Self-Belief Requires
My experience in working with many people over the years is that self-belief requires the following behaviors:- You genuinely care about what you are doing – it’s not just work.
- You feel aligned with your natural talents and abilities.
- You keep your ego in check and regularly monitor your motivations.
- When it comes to ethical and moral behavior, you lead by example.
- You continually work hard at growing your knowledge base and take nothing for granted.
- You don’t mind having your answers questioned; you are open to feedback.
- When you don’t know all the answers, you ask for help.
- You surround yourself with good people who boost your confidence and tell you the truth.
- You care less about who gets the credit and more about achieving the right outcome.
- You accept that failure is part of life and learn from your mistakes (just don’t repeat them).
- You don’t give up at the first sign of adversity, and you become more resilient as time passes.
- You stand up for what you believe in and are willing to question authority.
Confront Imposter Syndrome and Move Forward
Many leaders have some level of self-confidence issues. They often struggle with the “Imposter Syndrome” and wonder when someone will figure out that they are undeserving of their role and/or ill-equipped to handle leadership challenges. This humility can serve them well, but also can be a heavy burden (and crutch) if they are not careful. At some point, you must confront reality and move forward anyway, even when it is difficult. There are no guarantees in life. There are also no perfect leaders. Leadership is about showing up every day and doing your best regardless of the situation. Life is about personal growth and continually striving to get better. If not you, then who will take control of your destiny? Believe in yourself, and good things will happen!Related articles
- Living a life of abundance requires confidence; start to build it up. (dare2beher.wordpress.com)
- Simple Steps To Increase Your Self-Confidence (iwillassistyou.wordpress.com)
- Self-Esteem or Self-Confidence (solo-e.com)
- What is self-confidence? (makeyourmarkonlife.wordpress.com)
- Starts with Belief (poemsental.wordpress.com)
- Paradigms: Belief and Attitude, Growth and Destruction (thestaggeringferret.wordpress.com)