By Helen Williams, Helping Entrepreneurs Win 

Our columnist on why remaining optimistic is NOT ‘mission impossible’ 

We totally appreciate that the playing fields aren’t what they were for most. Goalposts have moved, rules have been rewritten and game tactics aren’t now as familiar for us as we have all navigated through some form of change. For some, it has been a degree or two of adaptation, for others a complete 180-flip.

We only need to switch on the TV and consume some of the daily media that could quite easily have us all living in fear – news of the worst recession, businesses closing, job losses, the threat of a second wave of the virus.

While not wishing to take anything away from the challenges and future impacts this will have on many, the fact is we must nevertheless remain optimistic and confident.

Sounds like a ‘mission impossible’, doesn’t it?

Well no, not exactly and here is why…

Our own confidence is an inside job, so here are our top tips for realigning that crown and going out there with confidence and grace around who you are and what you do:

Remember to control the controllable.

Primarily this being YOU – all your internal variables as well as anything else you have in your power. Essentially, the ‘controllables’ are your thoughts, emotions, actions and behaviours – your response rates, your reactions and general levels of proactive application.

You can’t control the external factors or other people, you can only control how you allow this to impact upon you personally.

Remind yourself of what you bring to the table.

Checklist your own credentials. Do an internal audit – think of it as revising your CV and re-establishing your strengths and experience. Reflection from time to time can be an encouraging task and immediate confidence booster.

MoT your skills by freshening up or upskilling to reload the tool belt.

If you need to adapt with the times, then do so. No-one feels confident when we are uncertain how to do something or aren’t familiar with a process, territory or system. So learn – don’t sit on a pity potty and get left behind. Inject yourself with new learnings and add more into your armour.

Back Yourself!

Easier said than done when you don’t feel confidence is your friend right now. But honestly – if you are determined as hell to survive, succeed and thrive then you need to be behind your vision. It’s not time for ‘Billy big balls’, to shout the loudest but what it IS time for is for you to be your own cheerleader.

Your confidence comes through doing, taking action and by creating movement.

The opposite of this is to stay still, freeze, get stuck, become stagnant, panic, become influenced by a negative spin and lose any last drop of confidence that you once had.

This isn’t how entrepreneurs, business owners and business leaders operate. Any dip in confidence is natural – it happens to the best of us and that’s okay. Sometimes we don’t even see it coming. Staying in that dip, however, is a choice.

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