My client, let’s call her Anne, texted me on Monday asking me to jump on a one-off coaching call because she got a message from a recruiter for a job opportunity. So we did.
Anne has been working for a big company for 10 years and moved across many functions for both depth and breadth of her experience. She has been itching to test the water elsewhere.
However, when she got that message from a recruiter, she panicked. Although she’s contacted because of her track records, her mind immediately goes: “oh, I haven’t done that thing for years.”, “I don’t know if I want to give up what I have”, or “I better not waste people’s time”.
Her default pattern is to doubt himself and resist the possibility even BEFORE she sees the job description.
Sound familiar?
The situation can be a new job opportunity, speaking in a conference, starting a business, quitting a job to travel for a year, or taking on new responsibilities. Whenever we think about a seemingly big change, our mind directly goes to “I am not good enough”, “are you crazy to give up what you have”, or, worse: “who do you think you are?”
It’s totally normal to think this way since our brain’s job is to keep us safe. Change is dangerous back then for survival, but as we evolve, our brain still does its best to prevent us from failing.
However, I would argue, we fail ahead of time anyway by doing nothing.
We fail because we don’t dare to pursue what we really really really want. We fail by not knowing our true potential. We fail thinking what could be different if we take that chance.
It’s okay. We’ve all been there at times. It’s also possible to make a different choice.
If we fail anyway (which takes some pressure off 😌), why don’t we choose to embrace it and fail forward? Other than doubting ourselves, we can ask below questions instead:
- What if it works?
- What if I succeed?
- What if it’s meant to be me?
- What if gaining the experience is exactly what I need at this moment to prepare me for a better future?
Love,
Wen
P.S.
- Do you know any immigrant senior female leaders who I can interview for my white paper on how immigrant women rise and stagnant? Please DM me or have them book a time with me directly.
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