How can you help clients overcome fear and self-doubt in their careers?

I guess the greatest antidote to self doubt and fear is ‘self confidence’… and it can seldom be externally induced. What I often do with my clients and in my talks is - remind the audience of times when they did overcome challenges and odds on their own terms, accord and ability. We all have been through our own share of hardships. The magnitude and range of impact may differ, but the attitude to ride through them is a constant. When people remember their own achievements and what what it took for them to get out of that despair, it brings back the confidence, that if I could do it then, when I was younger & inexperienced, I certainly can do it now. We all have a treasure trove of inspiring stories. I encourage people to bring them up 😇

Self limiting beliefs can be the root cause of the fear and self doubt. One has to find out the stage at which these beliefs were formed. Then speaker can decide strategy to eliminate them. Best way to find out the source of self limiting beliefs is to ask the experiences person has gone through.

First off if we are growing and stepping up in our career or life, we will at times experience a dip in our confidence and/or self doubt. It’s normal, even the most successful people will have moments like this. In these moments we need to find the things we can trust in ourselves and focus on those. When have we come through challenging times before and which of our qualities helped us through those times? Often when we are experiencing self doubt we are disconnected from some of our brilliant parts, confidence is about wholeness, being able to be connected to our whole self. What can we trust in and what do we need to work on, improve or ask for support with? Then we can confidently step forward.

One thing I found to be helpful is coming out of the comfort zone, let's cut the branch of negativity, fear & over expectation on self which puts undue pressure on ourselves. Let's set our own benchmark & surpass it periodically & we will be able to surpass our goals within defined timelines much more easily

Whilst dwelling on the root cause of your anxiety is necessary, be careful not to get caught up in it. Think about what people have said to you? Think about how people have spoken to you? Think about who has doubted you? Were they right? Did they have any idea what they were talking about? Often there is jealousy, intimidation, fear or another emotion driving comments like that which are all about them and not about you. If you can learn something, take the lesson and dump the emotion - easier said than done I know but you should never let anybody else attack you or your self confidence. You wouldn't let someone speak to your child like that so stick up fro yourself.

I encourage a lot of folks not to give in to the norm. 'You can't do this', 'it has never been done', 'it's a waste of time' or the more outright one: 'you will never be able to do it'. Many of us grew up hearing such statements on a regular basis that our subconsciousness have accepted them as authority and binding. They have conditioned us to the extent that they control or regulate how we think and sometimes even what we are able to achieve. First and foremost, they have to break that jinx and start thinking positively. This process will enable them to adjust their mindsets to 'I can do it', 'I will do it' and 'it can be done'. Fear and self doubt can be replace with virtues like being confidence, having strong faith in themselves.

You basically have to challenge clients about their feelings of own achievements. Often enough own achievements are just considered to be "part of the job", and why would anybody thank them for it. One has to learn to celebrate own achievements, even if it only means to raise a glass of something to toast oneself. ... and the next challenge will get mastered so much easier and with renewed energy

Every human being has moments of fear and self-doubt from time to time and most especially when faced with a new challenge or a difficult task. It is not in itself a bad thing, rather, a clarion call for help from the greatest of all helpers, God, the creator of man. As a believer, moments of fear and self doubt can best be overcome by: 1) Meditation on past victories and successes and how they were achieved. 2) Taking time to pray for help from above like David did in 1 Samuel 17 when he had to combat Goliath, the giant 3) Making use of the same principles that served you during past times of crisis, difficulties and challenges. In the case of David, he chose his sling and pebbles rather than the King’s armour. 4) Go in confidence.

It’s important to realise that we process all of the sensory information around us at a subconscious level (most of the time!) therefore, consciously think about: - What information am I deleting that I don’t need (or more importantly, that I think I don’t need). - What information am I distorting to fit into my map of the world? - What information am I generalising (based on what has previously happened?) It’s vital to remember that the information that we receive and represent to ourselves enables us to build our ‘map of the world’, however, our map of the world is sometimes different to the territory that we’re engaging with. It’s that map of the world however, which affects how we feel, and ultimately the action we take!

One thing that works for myself is taking a moment to put my future self in perspective. The future is coming, and always will be, as time goes on. Yourself five years from now is depending on you today as you hold the keys to who you become. It’s important to keep going. Failure will happen but those who succeed only did so because they were courageous in the face of challenges. Recommend small steps as they are more attainable and builds discipline over time to achieve and reach goals.

I always remind myself of the mantra – there is no failure, only feedback. Any action we take results in an outcome, it’s up to us as to whether we label that as failure (if we don’t get the outcome that we want). I find it far more helpful to remember that any action that I take will always result in feedback on the process. If I don’t get the outcome that I want at the end, what’s the feedback that I can take from the whole process to ensure that I get closer to the outcome that I want next time!

When I look back to being an young engineer, I wanted to write technical articles in trade magazines every so often, also to increase my own image. However reading in particular one industry expert's articles I felt that there was no way I could do something similar, lacking years of experience. Having gotten a bit friendly with the publisher, he encouraged me to just start to write. He also told me that if I would look closely I could see that this expert's articles were always a variation of the same theme, almost nothing new. That's how I started writing technical articles, even a few technical books and also became a speaker at national and internation industry events. I am so glad that I stepped out of my comfort zone.

Providing your clients with the necessary tools for their development and growth that they can utilize in their own home and community that can help them deal effectively when faced with challenges in their life.

Sharing your own story helps your clients to not only understand your story but also experience your story as they relate to it in ways that will help them to make a positive change in their lives as well as help them find their own path forward in their journey through the process to become a better version of themselves. They will build confidence in their own journey through their life as well as their relationships with their clients through the process of creating a positive impact on the lives of others.

Clients have to understand that positive thinking is wrong! Positive thinking basically means that you will cross a very busy road without any worry or concern, because you are convinced that nothing will happen to you. And then that big bus comes along ... It's positive attitude which is required: You assess the risk, and then take the necessary steps - by e.g. crossing the road carefully to the median (line) after waiting for the traffic to pass. Having achieved that you feel good for being halfway there and unscathed. Then you plan to cross the other half of the busy road, applying the same road sense. After arriving safely you realize that you successfully overcame the danger of the road by a positive attitude of how to do it

Teach your clients to promote self care by setting boundaries, managing work stress, and prioritizing tasks so that they can maintain a healthy balance between work and home. This will help them get to a level where they can focus on themselves as well as others toward becoming a better person. This will help their mental health as a result of their self worth in their ability to be more productive in life.

Strengths vs Weakness To help overcome lack of confidence and negativity . Ask the client to write a list with strengths and weaknesses. So they can visually see what they need to work upon , strategies to implement to improve them . Then to acknowledge their strengths , what skills and capabilities they possess which positively impact their work and well being .

The journey definitely starts with Identifying the root cause and addressing those instead of just plastering them superficially and progressing. Because in the case of the latter, the issue will rise up again later. Then having those tools and techniques, it can be something as small as getting up in the morning and saying 'I love you' in the mirror or having morning affirmations with an intent etc. Sharing your story of how you powered through. The how is extremely important here and not just the end result. And in the end talk about creating an ecosystem for accountability in their life. Having allies to help support them.

You could let them imagine their fear and self-doubt as a storyline in a book. Encourage them to become the author who can rewrite and reshape that narrative. Help them see challenges not as roadblocks but as plot twists leading to a more compelling and resilient character. By taking ownership of their story, they transform fear into anticipation and self-doubt into curiosity about the exciting chapters ahead. Remind them that every great story involves overcoming doubts, making their journey not only relatable but a masterpiece in the making.

Empower clients by highlighting past successes, reinforcing their strengths, and setting achievable goals. Encourage a positive mindset through affirmations and self-reflection. Provide constructive feedback, focusing on growth rather than perfection. Foster a supportive environment, emphasizing that setbacks are opportunities to learn. Guide them in developing a step-by-step plan to confront fears, gradually expanding comfort zones. Share relevant success stories to inspire confidence. Establishing a trusting relationship is key, allowing clients to express concerns openly. Ultimately, instill belief in their abilities, emphasizing that self-doubt is a common hurdle on the path to success, and resilience is a valuable asset.

Self-doubts and fears are the two forces that can stagnate one's career growth. Self-doubt usually emanates from low self-esteem, in which one pictures oneself as possessing low levels of competency at the job. This is usually accompanied by the fear of losing one's job. The need here, is to motivate the client to break up their project into smaller manageable tasks that are easy to accomplish. This will ultimately culminate into the successful completion of the project at hand. Since "Success Breeds Success", all of the client's successful endeavors over time, helps to nurture a healthy self-esteem. This transformed state of mind, colored with an optimistic outlook, helps replace fear with confidence!