Do you trust yourself? Are you good at listening to yourself? This skill will impact your career in big ways. Here are some thoughts and a how-to for you.
Self-trust can erode over time
It’s so common for self-trust to become eroded over time. This is especially true for people who are othered in some way (perhaps this resonates with a number of you).
Regardless of your experiences and attributes, if this has happened to you and you’re struggling to trust yourself really pay attention to your insights, it’s not your fault!
We’re living and working within systems that have a lot of noise (and barbs, for those of us who are non-dominant).
But (re)learning how to listen to yourself is SO important. It’s useful for a wide range of career and leadership skills like strategic thinking, decision-making, career advancement and navigating all sorts of professional situations.
Listening to yourself is also crucial to your developing true resilience.
There are lots of ways of rebuilding trust with yourself and (re)learning how to listen to yourself.
A few examples include journaling, meditation, reconnecting with your heritage, spiritual practice and various modalities of professional therapy.
Here’s one tool I recommend to my leadership students. This tool is simple and effective because it helps you to cut through the noise that’s around you – and in your own head.
A plan to help
Here’s what to do:
– Grab a pen and actual paper if you can (otherwise, other apps like dictation apps can certainly work, but if you can, a pen and paper will be more effective than typing).
– Set the timer on your phone for 5 minutes (5 at a minimum, 8-12 minutes is better if you can).
– Start writing. Just start writing anything. You can start with, “I don’t know what the heck this is going to achieve but this person on LinkedIn said it would help and I don’t know what to write but here I am and…”
– Just keep writing, even if it seems ridiculous. It’s okay for what you’re writing to be a hot mess, to not make sense. It really is okay. This is helping your neurology learn to cut through the noise and really hear the insights you already have.
– Write nonstop until the timer goes.
– Do this once a day on work days (perhaps on your commute home if you’re not driving, or right after you log off, or in the evening before bed as a few examples).
– Regardless of which specific days or time of day you choose, do this consistently for three weeks, and you will begin to notice yourself picking up on key insights and ideas throughout your day.
Read more career content over here.
If you need to guidance on how to do freewriting, I’ve got another post on how to do that over here.