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How to Bounce Back When Your Confidence Takes a Knock at Work
Losing your confidence at work or in business can have a huge impact on your career trajectory. When we don’t believe in ourselves or our abilities, we are far more likely to hold ourselves back.
This might look like letting a potential promotion pass you by or resisting challenging assignments that could help you get noticed. If you run your own business, a lack of confidence could prevent you from growing the brand or marketing it effectively. There are so many situations where confidence is key, so how do you recover when yours takes a knock?
How to Bounce Back When Your Confidence Takes a Knock at Work
1. Feel Your Feelings
If you’re struggling with difficult emotions after a setback at work, it’s important to feel your feelings and move through them. When we repress emotions, they often grow stronger and start showing up in unexpected, destructive ways. Acknowledging your emotions can be as simple as saying them out loud. Another option is to put things down on paper. Journaling helps us be more objective about our thoughts and feelings, observing our emotions rather than being swept away by them.
When you stop resisting and start feeling your feelings, the most important thing to remember is that you are not your emotions. Feeling like a failure doesn’t mean you’ve failed. Feeling less than, doesn’t mean you’re not enough.
2. Reframe the Situation
I’ve talked about the importance of mindset before. I’m not saying it’s easy but making a conscious effort to reframe a difficult situation can have a big impact on your confidence. There are a few ways to do this. Choosing the right method will depend on your personal circumstances and the context in which you’ve had your confidence knocked.
For example, if you’ve made a mistake or not done as well as you’d hoped, you could try focussing on the positives. What did you learn from the experience? What will you do differently next time? Is this an opportunity for growth? Reframing a situation could also involve looking at other people’s circumstances and behaviour rather than your own. Did your boss shout at you because you’re doing a terrible job, or because they’re under a lot of pressure and having a bad day?
3. Practice Self-Compassion
In all areas of life, learning to show ourselves more compassion and grace can be transformative. Most of us wouldn’t dream of talking to our friends or colleagues the way our inner critic talks to us. Whenever you’re feeling low or doubting your abilities, practice being kinder to yourself. What would you say to someone else going through a similar situation? How would you boost their confidence?
4. Challenge Negative Thoughts
Here’s another useful approach. If you have a negative thought about your performance at work or in business, interrogate that thought, look for evidence and consider alternative possibilities. For example:
- The thought – My latest launch wasn’t as successful as I’d hoped. I’m not good at what I do, and nobody wants to buy from me.
- Interrogate the thought – Hang on, is this true or am I just being hard on myself? Perhaps not hitting my sales target has made me doubt myself and my abilities?
- Look for evidence – This launch didn’t go well, but I’ve had other successful launches and my clients always give me great feedback. My latest offering might need work because I know people want to buy from me. This probably isn’t about me.
5. Know Your Worth
Remember, your worth is intrinsic, not tied to your abilities, productivity or the opinions of others. When we let our sense of worthiness depend on performance, whether at work or at home, it becomes fragile and easy to knock. You do not have to wait to be worthy, good or successful in the eyes of others. You can choose to feel that way right now.
If You Do One Thing This Week…
You don’t need your confidence to take a knock before working through the suggestions listed above. Practicing some of these things regularly, especially self-compassion and reframing situations, will ensure you’re well equipped to deal with any challenges that come your way.