I had a random thought the other day, and I thought why don’t I share it here on the blog, and make a seldom career coffee chat post. So here we are. Something I’ve always felt very proud of throughout my career has been the feeling of being in the driver’s seat when it comes to my career and work life. And particularly, something I wanted to highlight, is that I’ve never been afraid of being fired. I can’t say exactly where it came from, and it definitely started contouring more strongly within 1-2 years of getting into the work life and gaining that corporate consciousness. However, I remember quite vividly having that thought. That no matter what happens, I am not afraid of being fired. And that was actually a manifestation of trusting myself and being confident in my skills and ability to come out on top. It’s just an example of where it can apply.
And I strongly believe this has helped me on the way. I was never afraid of standing up for myself and fighting for whatever I thought was right. This can be as simple as fighting back if I thought the strategy I propose is better (though, in one case it was directly with the CEO), or if I am not happy with getting on a new project (that was because it didn’t fit with my working hours boundaries), or in general to fight for a promotion or a salary increase (and sometime I fought tooth and nail against office politics to be able to get ahead at my pace), just to mention some examples.
The funny thing is that back in the day, at the start of my career, I didn’t even have a proper emergency fund. So I definitely did not have that to back me up. However, that didn’t ever stop me. I had faith in myself that no matter what, I can get ahead. That no matter what, I will finish on top. And to me, this idea of trusting yourself goes a long way. Trusting that you are able to succeed no matter what. Trusting that you can contribute to creating the right circumstances for yourself to get ahead. And trusting your own skills and abilities to succeed in any environment.
This is what I always want to keep with me. This utmost faith in myself. And I encourage you to also seek this feeling. If you already are there, kudos to you and I celebrate you! If you’re not there yet, continue to seek it until you can find it. Find a way to take that leap of faith in yourself. And don’t rest until you trust yourself.
Of course, this is only my experience and what helped me. I also acknowledge that I have a specific background – for example, I don’t have kids that depended on me, nor a big amount of debt knocking on my door. Though I did have family support commitments at the time. Anyways, situations may differ, which is alright. You have to make your own calls based on your situation and what works for you.
Thank you for reading, and do let me know, do you resonate with this?
