Oddly, one of the best ways to build momentum is to believe you’ve already started building momentum. If you imagine yourself as talented and able to solve any problem that gets in your way, you get discouraged less easily because your self-image contextualizes the time it takes to succeed as a step on the way to progress, rather than an insurmountable obstacle.
Your self-talk manifests into reality. This is great when you’ve already started to see the fruits of the work you’re doing, but tends to be harder when you’re just starting out. The fear of failure creates it. However, self awareness may not be helpful if you don’t create the tools to allow you to harness success.
Here’s a couple ways I ‘cheat’ myself into self confidence I probably wouldn’t have otherwise.
First, I start by making detailed plans of what I need to do over a given time frame. The very act of writing something down makes something feel as if it’s going to be real. I try to make my checklist include some items that are effortless, so that when I am struggling to finish larger items, I have a track record of success.
For instance, I may have a daily plan that looks something like this:
Make Bed, Blog, Apply to 3 Business Analyst Jobs (and I’d list them out), Walk 10,000 steps.
As I’m able to regularly do more challenging projects, I remove tasks I don’t even need to notice myself doing (brushing teeth for instance), and gradually increase the difficulty of what I’m doing per day. Over time, this habit compounds, and you start seeing the results of your actions.
Another thing I do to shortcut success is I like to make verbal and other commitments that are easy to follow through. Your self-esteem is largely the reputation you cultivate with yourself, and as you prove to yourself you can do stuff, it’s easy to start out. If you’re good at a subject in a different area, it can be good to think about how to cross-apply those skills to making a plan. If I know it takes me X long to get good at something, can I apply a similar process to succeed where I have already.
A final approach to getting good at things quickly is to look for help from experts, either through reading, taking courses, or mentorship. When you find expert help, it’s a lot easier to supercharge your skills and learn the tacit knowledge that may otherwise be challenging to get at.
So, what are you nervous about getting to the next step on? How are you going to achieve your goals?
Isadore Johnson's Website 