How do you stay confident during a period of change? How do you overcome imposter syndrome and guilt? How do you build a community around you of awesome people?
These are some of the questions we explored in our ‘Get Confident This Summer’ webinar series. Our special guests included Ruth Kudzi, Success Coach; Phanella Mayall Fine, Co-Founder, The Step Up Club; Vicki Psarias, Honest Mum; and Digital Mums’ Graduate, Ruth Thomson.
If you missed any of their webinars, email [email protected] and she will send you the recordings.
Together the webinars contain hours of tips, techniques and advice on how to be more confident.
We have distilled the best of the best into the Digital Mums' 10 Ways To Be More Confident.
1. Accept
All of our webinar guests shared that, even though they are successful and appear confident, they also suffer from imposter syndrome, guilt, fear and lack of confidence.
The key is to accept these feelings as normal. Vicki, the award-winning vlogger and filmmaker at Honest Mum shared how Imposter Syndrome still plagues her. Even when she reaches over 3 million people and is partnering with brands like Raymond Blanc, Herbal Essences and TK Maxx.
2. Remember The Reasons Why
When we are doing something challenging, scary and new, a part of feeling confident is reminding yourself the reasons why.
Phanella’s advice. Carry a picture with you to remind you of why you are doing it and help you overcome any feelings of guilt when they occur.
3. Build Expertise
Part of being confident is having skills and knowledge. No one likes the person who is all sales and no skills. At Digital Mums, we encourage all our students and graduates to hustle but it’s also important to know your stuff.
Ruth Kudzi recommended finding the right balance between building expertise through training that builds real skills and getting out there and using your skills.
4. Believe
Our beliefs about the world shape our experience everyday. And beliefs can be changed.
Ruth Kudzi shared a technique for building new beliefs. She recommends writing down the belief you want to hold e.g. I am confident. Then look for evidence for that to be true. You may need to do this exercise over a period of days or weeks as you gather new evidence for your new belief.
5. Build a Supportive Community Around You
Having supportive, positive, ambitious and successful people around you can make a huge difference to your confidence.
Ruth Thomson shared how she uses social media including LinkedIn to build her community. To accompany the webinar series, she created a 7 day, free e-course for our community called ‘Pimp Your LinkedIn Profile’ and you can sign up for it here.
6. Stretch Yourself and Try New Things
Confidence is built by doing things that challenge you over and over again until they are no longer scary.
Vicki shared how, after winning an award from Channel 4, instead of getting comfortable, she took on a project that pushed her out of her comfort zone. She recommends trying new things whether it’s blogging, vlogging, social media, video.
How will your know if you like them if you don’t try?
7. Redefine Failure
Feeling like you’ve failed at something in the past can really knock your confidence.
At Digital Mums, we teach the ‘Test, Measure, Reflect, Refine’ model of evaluating social media campaigns. There is no ‘failure’, just a new opportunity to learn and improve.
Ruth Kudzi and Ruth Thomson approach a challenge as if there were no failure, only opportunity and learning.
8. Have a Confidence Ritual
Find something that makes you feel immediately more confident.
For both Ruth Kudzi and Ruth Thomson, putting on a bright lipstick gives an instant boost. For Vicki it’s her tassel earrings.
9. Give Up Perfect
Comparing ourselves to a perfect, idealised version of ourselves or someone else is not the route to confidence. Perfectionism though is a hard habit to break.
When pushing herself to do something new, Ruth Thomson reminds herself ‘done is better than perfect’.
10. Take Action
And most importantly, take action. Even if you feel scared, like an imposter, guilty or under confident.
Don’t let these feelings stop you from achieving what you want to achieve whether it is finding a new career, up-skilling or finding flexible work.
If you are interested in our Social Media Management Course get in touch soon as we only have one cohort left in 2017. Alternatively simply click here to book in an informal chat with our Admissions Team.
