There are 5 pillars of career and emotional confidence that could be useful when seeking your next level of career development.
Resilience
Relationships
Resources
Results
Reflection
Resilience
I like defining it as the ability to bounce back. If you were to look back at your life, I am very sure you've had at least 5 incidents you could recall coping with disappointment, loss, failure or helplessness-either professionally or personally. Please list them down and think about one thing you learned about yourself from each of those experiences.
Relationships (Family, Friends and Work)
In 2019, Snapchat released the Friendship Report with some interesting insights. After surveying a diverse group of 10,000 participants from countries all around the world, including the United States, Australia, Saudi Arabia, and others, it found that globally
people reported an average of four best friends,
people reported an average of seven regular friends,
people reported an average number of 20 acquaintances. (People like "Instagram friends" may fall under the acquaintances bracket)
Consider the number of friends and acquaintances you have socially and professionally and add them to your extended family network. Which of these relationships has made an impact on your career and life choices so far? Why?
Resources (Internal & External)
Most people need reminders of the levels of internal and external resources they have, to achieve goals they desire. I like the definition offered by researcher and consultant Scott Burnham
"External resources are the things we use or rely on to do our jobs, meet a challenge, or respond to a need: they are structures, objects, fuel, materials, technology, tools, mechanical assistance, and so on. There are many types of external resources, but all share one trait: regardless of their origin or form, they are limited."
"Internal resources are the capabilities we acquire over time: experience, knowledge, technical skills, perception, ability, insight, and so on. They are investments we make in ourselves. Internal resources are not confined by the same limitations as external resources. There are always more abilities and skills to acquire, more insight and experience to be gained."
What are some of the external resources you can tap on? What is one internal resource you can develop to take you to your next stage?
Results
In which area of your career or personal life have you seen results that have encouraged you?
What was it you did that led to that?
Describe yourself when you were on that journey leading to results? What were your levels of self and professional esteem? What were the patterns of self-talk going on?
Reflection
Much has been said about the need and power of reflection so we won't belabor that but I believe that the greatest potential in reflection is the fact that it's intertwined with the language we wire our mindsets with. I love this quote by Cesar Chavez "Our language is the reflection of ourselves."
Each time you reflect, I invite you to think about how your words impact your beliefs and trigger your emotions. Pay close and still attention to these moments and choose a different word or view to reframe it.
I hope this helps your next chapter unfold.