LinkedIn asked me to answer “What do you do if your confidence in the workplace is lacking?”

I, of course, provided a detailed answer rather than something abrupt, glib (my opinion), and which left the reader with no explanations or solution paths.

Hence I’m posting this here. Hope it helps.

What do you do if your confidence in the workplace is lacking?

What do you do if your confidence in the workplace is lacking? Lacking confidence in something you want or are led to do can make you feel like a victim and that’s not a happy place to be.

First thing I’d suggest is getting away from the workplace; take a sick day, mental health day, PTO, vacation day, do some thing and/or go some place where work isn’t in your face. This can be in your living room, kitchen, bedroom, den, balcony, at the beach, in a field, your backyard, in your garden, your porch, the woods, he mountains, at the mall, wherever.

Second thing: Calm yourself. Lacking confidence in anything you wish to excel at can be a soul killer and the soul killing often manifests as anxiety, misplaced anger, irritation, making negatives where none exist, and so on.

Third thing: Decide if it’s a genuine lack of ability on your part or a lack of recognition on management’s and peers’ parts.

Third thing sub A: Do you lack confidence because you’re genuinely unsure of what you’re doing, how to do your work, or what’s required of you? Ask yourself if you have the proper training for your job or need some training. Definitely let management know, ask peers to help you do something, sign up for a course at a local tech school or college. Basically seek help and guidance. Should a genuine request for help and guidance go unanswered, mocked, derided, or ignored, GET A NEW JOB ASAP! You’re in an unhealthy work environment and one way or another your work will affect all other aspects of your life negatively. Save yourself and those people and things you care about by taking care of yourself and finding a new job or new place to work.

Third thing sub B: Do you lack confidence because you’re not being recognized by management? Are you getting regular reviews? Regular reviews are required for good management-employee relations. Mention needing a review to your supervisor. They ignore the request? Ask to be transferred or find another job.

Third thing sub C: Do you lack confidence because your peers are unkind or harassing you? That’s an HR problem. Speak to your HR team and/or your Union rep. Again, no satisfaction? Time to move on.

I’ve written more on soul killing at Beware of Soul Killers and more about emotionally, physical, spiritual, and mental health in That Th!nk You Do

Note this doesn’t touch on lacking confidence in personal relationships. Let me know it there’s interest and I’ll write something about that, as well.

That Th!nk You Do is now an audiobook

That Th!nk You Do, my first title with Northern Lights Publishing and published Jan ’23, is now available as an audio book.

Northern Lights’s A-Team had many discussions about going the audio route, and several audio providers (of course) leapt forward explaining how they’d do the best job.

Already having one audio book failure with a previous publisher, I was skeptical.

In the end, Northern Lights went with Amazon’s native ACX system for several reasons (which they’ll explain). The chosen narrator, Nicholas Torres, did an excellent job.

I also have some promo codes available, and the next five people to become members of this blog will get one.

And as always, thanks for your support.

 

Rob and Joan Carter’s MEET THE AUTHOR interview Snippet 10 – Victims

I mentioned Rob and John Carter and I chatting on their MEET THE AUTHOR show in previous blog posts.

This is post #10 in a series of thirteen snippets taken from the full interview video. You can also listen to the interview via podcast

Today’s snippet deals with my recognizing and sharing an aspect of victimhood which, when I first mentioned it publicly – wasn’t well received.

Enjoy!

 

Rob and Joan Carter’s MEET THE AUTHOR interview Snippet 9 – Write Your History, Change Your Life

I mentioned Rob and John Carter and I chatting on their MEET THE AUTHOR show in previous blog posts.

This post is #9 in a series of thirteen snippets taken from the full interview video. You can also listen to the interview via podcast

Today’s snippet deals with something I encourage all survivors of trauma – write your history, change your life.


Enjoy!

 

Rob and Joan Carter’s MEET THE AUTHOR interview Snippet 8 – Four Steps

I mentioned Rob and John Carter and I chatting on their MEET THE AUTHOR show in previous blog posts.

This is post #8 in a series of thirteen snippets taken from the full interview video. You can also listen to the interview via podcast

Today’s snippet deals with what seems to be becoming a favorite subject when I’m interviewed – a four step algorithm for dealing with personal challenges (behavior issues, psychological issues, emotional issues, …).


Enjoy!