In leadership and business, when we put ourselves out there and effectively expose ourselves to the world, we open ourselves up to all manner of opinions – some good, some not so good.
It is when we take these opinions personally and make them more about who we are rather than what we do, that we really cause chaos for ourselves as we struggle with self worth and confidence in the face of negativity. This has a disastrous impact on our success in leadership and business so it is worth putting the time into understanding where you are losing energy so that you can put a fix in place to stem the flow of confidence and take it back and use it for your own benefit!
- Stand firm for who you are. While there are times when “putting up and shutting up” are the best course of action, it is important that, rather than having this as your default behaviour, you are intentionally choosing what you tolerate and what you are willing to set a boundary on.If there is something at work that goes against all your believe in and impacts you, your team or your reputation, then it is important to stand up and be counted, even if others disagree with you. Our biggest regrets are often about the things we didn’t say, rather than the things we did and when you are confident in who you are, this decision is made a whole lot easier!
- Define yourself by your values. Fundamental to your very being is knowing what is important to you, e.g respect, integrity, independence. When we live to our values, we are happy and content. However, when we are out if kilter with our values, we can feel frustrated, angry and stressed e.g. If you value independence and find yourself under a micro manager, this will impact you much more than someone who isn’t that bothered about independence! Recognising what you NEED to have in your role will go a long way towards helping you to make the right decisions and create a life that is positive, value-driven and intentional.
- Create your story – it is your’s to be written …not your friends, not your family, not your boss, which is why you need to get a handle on what you want to do, the legacy you want to leave and how you want to be perceived by the world. Clearly everyone is entitled to their opinion, but that doesn’t mean that you should define yourself by it.
Your story belongs to you – own it!
Your future starts here.
Sharon
