The Key to Confidence? Just Drive!
On the week-end, we held our Women with Confidence workshop with a group of talented female leaders. I discussed with these women that one of the barriers to unshakeable confidence is what I call ‘destination unknown’. A confident leader has a clear direction and invites others along for the ride. They know where they are heading.
Habit 2 in Dr Stephen Covey's famous book The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People is 'Begin with the End in Mind.' He discusses the need to know your destination in order to be effective and know your highest priorities.
It’s all about moving forward and having momentum. I think it’s like getting in your car, starting the engine and beginning to drive.
At the workshop whilst we were discussing this anology, one of the women asked ‘how can I start driving when I’m not entirely sure where I want to end up?’ Great question. Have you ever felt like that? Just not sure what your next move should be? I think we have all been in that position at some time in our careers. And I think that's perfectly ok.
My advice if you find yourself in this situation? Just get in your car and drive. You’ll find your direction along the way. You see, you don’t have to keep driving on the same road. You can take an exit; deviate. You might be surprised what you find. If you’re already moving, it’s easy to change direction.
It’s when you stop that causes the problem. If you stop driving and pull over to the side of the road what happens? Everyone else passes you by. You can start to feel like you’re being left behind and you are.
You also don’t ever get to see what’s ahead of you; what’s around that bend; what’s just up the road. Your view stays the same. Your perspective doesn't change. You have no momentum. It then takes a lot of effort and power, to get moving again; to get from 0 to 100km.
When your destination is crystal clear, you can set your GPS, get in the right hand lane and speed ahead. You might even want to take the inner city bypass!
When you’re a little uncertain, get in your car and just cruise in the left hand lane, taking in the sights along the way and deciding whether you want to take that next exit or not.
It’s all about momentum. Confidence comes from moving forward.
Happy driving!
Midja x