Aha Moment Monday
Have you ever noticed how some people seem to blast through life one astounding accomplishment after another while others, equally talented, creep one, tiny victory at a time?
Some people simply trust that if they jump the net will appear. Others only take a bold step after much evaluation and lamenting; awaiting the time when both they, and the circumstances, appear perfect.
When it comes to jolting ahead and taking risks, men and women surely act differently.
Hormones certainly play a part but so do the subtle differences in how our brains are built.
In fact, women’s brains have the bulk of brain matter in the frontal cortex – where reason lives – and a chunk in the emotional centre called the limbic cortex.
The brain matter in men, however, tends to be more spread out with less than half of it in their frontal cortex.
Still, we can cite people in both genders who trust and leap ahead and those whose desire for perfection paralyzes them.
We know that go-get-‘em attribute is “confidence”, but how do we muster enough to propel us forward?
Aha – Fail faster
“Nothing builds confidence like taking action, especially when the action involves risk and failure” says Katty Claire and Kay Shipman, Authors: The Confidence Code
Building confidence is not just about doing the thing; it’s about doing the thing in a bold way that gets you w-a-y out of your comfort zone.
The bigger the risk, the bigger the opportunity to fall flat on your face and ultimately the bigger the opportunity to learn.
Confident people often have volumes of stories of their failures. It doesn’t always go right.
But that’s the ticket. They learn to ditch “do it right” for just plain “do it” and figure it out as they go.
Confident people are quick to get feedback, evaluate, modify, then go at it again … and again … and again … if that’s what it takes.
And they don’t allow the failure or set-back or the fact that they might have missed the mark slightly to destroy their confidence in themselves.
“Perfectionism actually inhibits achievement” says Claire and Shipman
It should never be about being perfect anyway because you’re already good enough.
It’s totally about being authentic and being more of yourself today than you were yesterday.
Raise your hand. Speak your idea. Take that stage.
Success looks good on you!
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