🙋 Bet on yourself

Many thanks to everyone who joined our Job Hunt Pathfinder strategy session last week! I was thrilled to see the responses roll in when I asked for one word for how they felt about their job search before getting the Pathfinder, and one word for how they feel about their strategy right now:

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"I can’t do that."

"Why would they pick me?"

"This is just too risky."

You know the voice. The one that whispers (sometimes shouts) in your brain when you’re facing a challenge. Sure, it’s there to keep us safe, but sometimes it feels like that voice is just there to hold us back. 

This week my daughter is going on a school field trip. One of the activities is horseback riding. She’s nervous – those horses are big. 

Her inner voice is telling her it’s too much. So I sat down to talk to her about it.

"They wouldn’t have you do it if they didn’t believe you could," I told her. "You’re going to have an adventure. And you’ll have plenty of people there to help you if you need it."

My advice to her was to just try it and see how it goes. Whatever happens, you can be proud of yourself for facing the challenge. 

Too often, when it comes to our professional lives, we don’t have another voice telling us that challenge helps us grow, that we should believe in ourselves, that we will have support if we need it and that we should be proud just to try. 

Maybe we hear these things from our loved ones, but bat their advice aside as well-intentioned but misinformed. That warning voice in our head is so much louder. 

My challenge to you this week: parent yourself through a career challenge you’re facing. 

Whatever your big horse is – maybe applying for a role that seems like a stretch, or talking to your manager about opportunities for growth, or even signing up for a training course or certification – try to add the perspective of a supportive caregiver to the other voice in your head. 

Tell yourself: 

• I believe in you.
• I’m proud of you. 
• I trust you to make good choices. 
• You’ll have help if you need it. 
• Why not try it and see how it goes?

After all, if you don’t bet on yourself…why should anyone else?

Happy navigating,
Bridget