18 Feb 2008 04:53:04 | Jo Ball
When I tell you what I heard you’ll be able to laugh at what you
believe is your own lack of confidence.
I couldn’t believe it. Sunday, in a queue, in my local
food-store an Olympic athlete stood behind me, chatting to
another Olympic athlete. I looked at the contents of my shopping
cart and wondered, which item I could get them to autograph!
That is until I overheard them talking…
You see, I thought only you and me suffered from confidence
problems. I thought we were the only ones who’d looked at a guy
and thought he’d never feel attracted to a women like us. I
thought we were the only ones who felt unworthy of going for the
better job. I thought we were the only ones who over ate. I
thought we were the only ones who talked ourselves down and felt
like we don’t deserve anything nice. But what I discovered is
that we’re not.
Standing in that queue on Sunday taught me that an Olympic
athlete has the gold medal of lowest confidence, and, to be
honest she can have it!
And then on Monday I get an email from a friend who has moved
into the boardroom – a top level job, for which she’s been given
all the perks. When I asked her how it was going she said, “I
feel like a fifteen year-old in an adult’s playground. They’ll
find me out any minute. They’ll see I’m no good.” Then I heard
this…
An Oscar-winning felt ‘Not good enough,’ when she won her
awards!
When I stopped to think about it, I had to laugh. If an Olympic
athlete, a executive one step away from a CEO and a top actress
can all lack in confidence then why not me and you?
Using those three women as the yardstick I have no reason to
lack confidence. When I look at my life I really do have a
successful business, great friends and wonderful family etc. I
didn’t need to be brimming with confidence to gain any of that.
What I needed was something else…
I have inspired moments where everything I know comes together.
I act in those moments – sometimes in good humour and in
disbelief – and what comes to me is a new client, a new
friendship and a great relationship. But how is this achieved.
Forget the big picture. Forget the Olympic team, the top job and
the Oscar winning actress. Don’t aim too high. Going places is
about taking small steps, take those tiny steps and like a baby
leaning to walk before it runs you’ll gain enough confidence to
change your life. One more thing…
Know you are not alone. The people I mentioned above are just a
sample. Recently I emailed my database to see how many people I
could help grow in confidence. Fifteen percent of them believed
I could help!
About Author :
Jo Ball is one of the UK’s leading personal development coaches.
She would love you to join her fast-growing readership on
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