How to be more confident at work

Despite education, experience and job training, many people feel that something is wrong when they are at work. It is common that, from time to time, we enter an existential crisis, seeing ourselves as totally incompetent in what we are supposed to be good at or what we have been trained for.

Our minds often play tricks on us and sometimes make us feel very insecure in the profession we have chosen, a situation that is never conducive to us. Feeling insecure increases the risk of failure, as well as scaring us and preventing us from making ambitious decisions in our employment.

Fortunately, It is possible to work on our confidence in the workplace. Therefore, below we are going to see a few tips to see how to have more self-confidence at work.

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Tips to have more self-confidence at work

"I'll never be able to do it", "I'm not cut out for this", "I'm not good at this job"... Have you ever said these kinds of things to yourself? If so, don't worry, it's quite common and, as far as it goes, normal. There are few people who throughout their entire professional career have not had any security problem, disregarding or even denigrating their own abilities. But despite being relatively common,

this lack of confidence and security at work can be a great obstacle to professional development and take advantage of all the skills that we certainly have.

Next we are going to see how to have more self-confidence at work.

1. stop chasing trust

It is impossible to always feel confident, so there is nothing healthier than to stop chasing confidence. This is like happiness, looking for it tirelessly, the only thing that makes us bitter.

Our level of trust fluctuates, it is unstable. There will be days when we feel more sure of ourselves when working on what we like and others when we don't, such as the day a colleague argues with us. It's normal, we are not cold machines without emotions.

Even the great successful businessmen, Hollywood actresses and great singers in the music industry admit that, on more than one occasion, they have felt like real failures. They have felt how their confidence was on the ground, and then returned to the skies and become the successful people they are.

For these reasons, do not try to always be confident and sure of yourself, it is not possible. Also, constantly pretending to have high security is exhausting and frustrating. The more you chase it, the more insecure and untrusting you will feel, and the sadder too.. It is true that you have to work on it, but there are many healthier ways to achieve this quality, such as the points that come after this.

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2. dare to act

Self-esteem does not depend on the result of our actions, but on the actions themselves. This was the conclusion reached by Richard L. Bednar and Scott R. Peterson, two psychologists who are experts in self-esteem.

They themselves showed it by talking about the case of patient cases. When one of them didn't show up for an exam after spending time preparing for that test, he felt worse than if he showed up for the exam and ended up failing.. That is, the pride of having tried would act to counteract the influence of disappointment and sadness for not having passed the exam.

Self-confidence increases when we act. So, to have more self-confidence at work, you have to try new tasks, enroll in new challenges, dare to do things. Acting, even if we end up failing in the end, is something that already makes us feel more confident, confidence which will bring us success sooner or later.

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3. Maintain a winning pose

Dr. Amy Cuddy conducted an interesting experiment in which she found that if someone was asked to strike a power pose for two minutes, their testosterone levels increased and cortisol levels decreased, the famous stress hormone. All of this contributed to his feeling more confident and willing to take risks.

With power pose we refer to those that represent a certain dominance. It would be the typical one of expanding the body, as athletes do when they win, with arms raised, chest puffed out and chin up.

The explanation of dr. Cuddy is that there is a two-way communication between the mind and the body. When we are proud, our posture reflects it. If, even being sad, we adopt a triumphant pose, little by little we will feel more confident.

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4. Turn fear into excitement

Fear and excitement are two different emotions, but with a similar biological basis, since both are caused by the hormone adrenaline. Theoretically, it would be possible to use it to feel excitement instead of fear.

And so it seems that a study conducted by Dr. Alison Brooks demonstrated. This researcher separated several students into three groups and, to generate anxiety, she ordered them to make an individual presentation while a jury evaluated them.

She did not give any prior instructions to the first group, while she asked the second and third groups to repeat aloud “I am calm” and “I am excited”, respectively. The end result was that the students in the third group, those who tried to interpret their nerves as excitement rather than fear did much better.

From all this we can recommend that, the next time you face a challenge, try to think that nerves are not fear, but enthusiasm, nerves of emotion. Surely you will feel much more confident and you will do what you have proposed with more desire.

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5. treat each other like a friend

What do you tell yourself when you fail? Most of us are very hard on ourselves, telling ourselves less than encouraging things like "You're a loser!" "Often useless", "You are useless..." every time we do something wrong or that, simply, has not come out perfection.

Would we say these same things to a friend? If we want to keep him by our side, of course not. When a good friend makes a mistake or fails, far from telling him that he is useless, we try to comfort and encourage him so that he does not get depressed.

The time has come for us to treat ourselves as good friends. Tell ourselves encouraging things, encourage us by telling us that everything will be fine, that we will achieve our goals and that we don't have to get depressed because there have been some things that have gone wrong sounds simple, but it works.

Self-compassion is capable of reducing insecurity, stress and anxiety, as well as increasing the number of positive thoughts, which are never too much. But very important: Self-compassion does not mean feeling sorry for yourself, but treating yourself as you would a friend when something bad happens or fails. It is knowing how to appreciate the fact that you have tried instead of punishing yourself for having made a mistake.

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6. go to therapy

The most effective way to deal with discomfort due to complexes and personal insecurities is to go to psychological therapy. In the consultation of a psychologist or a psychologist you will find the appropriate tools to manage your emotions, adopt a new way of life that is more consistent with your values ​​and interests, and learn to express yourself with assertiveness.

Therefore, if you are looking for psychology services, get in touch with us. On PSiCOBAi We will be happy to assist you in person or online.