What do you do if you're struggling with self-doubt and want to be more assertive in your career?

When struggling with self-doubt and aiming for assertiveness in your career, start by identifying your fears. Reflect on what specifically triggers your self-doubt. As per great J Krishnamurti "The constant assertion of belief is an indication of fear." Understand that self-doubt often stems from fear of failure or criticism. Once you recognize these fears, challenge them with positive affirmations and actions. Break tasks into manageable steps, celebrating each accomplishment. Seek support from mentors or colleagues who believe in you. With persistence and self-awareness, gradually step out of your comfort zone. Growth occurs beyond fear's boundaries.

If you're struggling with self-doubt and want to be more assertive in your career, start by acknowledging and understanding your feelings of self-doubt. Then, work on building your confidence through self-reflection, positive affirmations, and setting achievable goals. Practice assertiveness by expressing your thoughts and opinions clearly and respectfully, and gradually challenge yourself to take on more leadership responsibilities or speaking opportunities. Seeking support from mentors, coaches, or therapy can also be beneficial in overcoming self-doubt and developing assertiveness skills. Remember, building confidence and assertiveness is a journey, so be patient with yourself and celebrate your progress along the way.

Cultivate a positive mindset by practicing self-care, setting realistic goals, celebrating your successes while recognizing setbacks are a natural part of growth and learning. Consider seeking professional development opportunities such as workshops or courses focused on assertiveness training or confidence-building exercises.

Identifying and acknowledging your fears is a courageous act that sets the stage for growth. By pinpointing the sources of your self-doubt, such as fear of failure or rejection, you disarm their hold on you. Through introspection and questioning their validity, you dismantle their power and pave the way for renewed confidence and resilience.

Setting SMART goals empowers you to cultivate assertiveness effectively. Break down your career aspirations into specific, measurable, attainable, relevant, and time-bound objectives. This roadmap not only clarifies your path but also boosts confidence as you celebrate each milestone. With clear goals guiding your actions, you'll assertively navigate towards your professional ambitions.

Once you've identified the fears, it's time to set some clear, actionable goals for becoming more assertive. This could mean practicing speaking up in meetings, negotiating for a raise, or taking on a new project that pushes you out of your comfort zone. Having specific targets to work towards can build your confidence.

Start upskilling, this will really make you feel empowered. Accept the fact that this happens with most of the people and it is nothing to be ashamed infact this will lead new learnings and new oppurtnities to you. You have to keep trying and learn new things for yourself. Give yourself sometime, don't be in rush to climb that ladder, things will happen at its own pace, you just have to keep working towards it.

Set goals that are appropriate for your situation in order for them to be meaningful, stretching but achievable. For example, I have a running goal of setting a new pb each year but it would be unrealistic to set myself the challenge of winning a gold at the next Olympics. To do so would be demotivating and overwhelming. Once you establish your own yardstick for success instead of someone else's, great things happen.

I am assertive, yet I make sure to keep my voice calm and consistently incorporate feedback from others into my decisions, giving credit to people for their input. By being assertive while also showing that I value and listen to others' input, people generally don't view my approach as aggressive. Instead, this balance earns me more respect and often leads to greater agreement and support for my decisions from my peers. As people respect those who can be firm with decisions and articulate reasons behind them as well as benefits for all parties with this decision.

Clear communication is key to assertiveness. By effectively expressing your thoughts, needs, and accomplishments, you can overcome self-doubt and project the confidence you deserve in your career. Speak with Confidence (Even if You Don't Feel It): Project confidence through your body language and tone. Maintain eye contact, stand tall with an open posture, and speak clearly at a moderate pace. Confidence is often contagious, so "faking it till you make it" can work wonders.

Assertiveness is all about communicating your needs, ideas and boundaries directly and confidently. Work on developing a strong, steady speaking voice, good eye contact, and concise language. Remember, you have valuable contributions to make - you just need to own them!

Effective communication is the foundation of assertiveness, and it's crucial to convey your thoughts and opinions in a clear, concise, and respectful manner. To achieve this, practice using a confident and direct tone, avoiding qualifiers like "just" or "maybe" that can undermine your ideas. Stand firm in your convictions and present your points with assurance, while still considering the perspectives of others. This balanced approach will help you assert yourself without coming across as aggressive, allowing you to gain respect and influence in the workplace. By being honest, direct, and considerate, you'll become a more effective communicator and a more assertive individual, able to express yourself with confidence and authority.

Eu já tive muitas dúvidas sobre qual carreira seguir e nessa busca, fiz vários cursos de diversas áreas. Quando eu achava que tinha me encontrado, come?ava a perder o interesse e surgia a vontade come?ar outra profiss?o. O meu erro era n?o ter clareza dos meus talentos e tentar me definir numa única área. Eu gosto de muitas coisas e aprendi a diversificar o que fa?o, mas sem desfocar dos meus talentos.

Investing in your professional development is a powerful way to build confidence and assertiveness. By identifying and enhancing the skills most valued in your field, you'll not only become more competent but also more confident in your abilities. Documenting your progress and contributions provides tangible evidence of your capabilities, serving as a reminder of your worth and helping to combat self-doubt. As you become more skilled, you'll feel more empowered to voice your ideas, take on new challenges, and assert yourself in a professional setting. This, in turn, can lead to increased recognition, respect, and influence, further reinforcing your confidence and assertiveness.

Ask for feedback from trusted colleagues, mentors, or supervisors. Constructive feedback can help you identify areas for improvement and build confidence in your abilities.

Feedback is indeed a valuable tool for growth and development. Seeking constructive criticism from colleagues, mentors, or coaches can help you identify areas for improvement and build on your strengths. By internalizing positive feedback, you can reinforce your self-image as a competent professional, boosting your confidence and assertiveness. Meanwhile, negative feedback provides an opportunity to learn and develop further, helping you address blind spots and improve your skills. Embracing feedback demonstrates your commitment to personal and professional growth, and your willingness to adapt and improve. This mindset is a hallmark of assertiveness, allowing you to take ownership of your development and continuously strive for excellence.

Building a robust support network is pivotal for surmounting self-doubt and nurturing assertiveness. Surround yourself with individuals who champion your potential and offer guidance, whether they're friends, family, colleagues, or mentors. Their encouragement fortifies your confidence amidst challenges and reinforces your worth during moments of uncertainty. Moreover, observing and adopting the assertive demeanour of peers in your network can serve as a blueprint for your professional growth.

Surround yourself with both coaches and cheerleaders. The support I get from my colleagues and peers is different from that of my family and friends. It is important to strike a balance between those who will stretch you and those that will support you. It can also be useful to vocalise the type of support you are seeking. Sometimes when my sister is being my coach, I ask her to be my cheerleader and vice versa. Your supporters are not psychic so it is important you can self advocate for the type of feedback and support that will benefit you in a specific moment of scenario.

I like taking a personal inventory of my super powers, significant career milestones, awards and recognitions, and unique contributions to my team or organization. This exercise helps to build my confidence and silence the voices that tell me I’m not worthy or talented enough to take on the challenge in front of me.

One thing that is really important is to make sure that your values are aligned or still aligned with the work you are doing, the company you are working for and the clients you are serving. Otherwise you will never sound convincing and your hesitancy will be palpable and feed your self-doubt further. Working with a coach or a mentor can help you identify the cause of your self-doubt if you’re not confident on how to do this on your own. Hope this helps!

Get a Coach, Counselor, Pastor and mentor who you work with to overcome your self-doubt and provide incredible support to help unlock what is holding you back.

- Read good books to broaden your horizons. - Meditate and visualize yourself taking pertinent action towards your goals as a result of which you get appreciation and recognition at work. - Listen to podcasts - these little nuggets of wisdom will help change your perspective towards the outer world. - Find a mentor, preferably at work. Someone who can guide you and with whom you can open up about your apprehensions. - Collaborate with peers. See how they handle the chops. Is there something you can learn and assimilate? - Talk to your manager. Proactively seek feedback. Ask how you can overcome your shortcomings. - Enroll in a skill-specific training course to up the ante. Developing soft skills is far more important than hard skills.

Search for support. If possible, professional one. Along our career we receive lots of feedback, perceptions, opinions, that may confuse who you really are, what you want and which are your strenghts. Sometimes it is good to re-start with a clean sheet of paper and the right questions / reflections.