Chris A. Petersen

Strategic Thinker, Professional Speaker, and Workshop Facilitator

How to Build Confidence

Confidence can be tricky—but everyone knows it’s a positive trait which can help you not only in your career, but in life. It can give you courage to try new things, wisdom to make good choices and the ability to take on new challenges.

When you are confident, other people feel they can trust and rely on you, making you an indispensable employee. This can assist the climb up the corporate ladder in your industry, because if you’re too meek, people will assume you can’t handle the tasks at hand.

Building confidence is easier said than done, and you can’t decide one day to be instantly self-assured. It requires consistent conscious choices to believe in yourself and your abilities, and practice showing the world your boldness to really make it authentic.

Here are a few tips to help you build your confidence:

Picture It
As I mentioned before, building confidence takes time. To begin the process, picture your goals on a daily basis; think about what you want to do, how you want to act and what that looks like in everyday life. Then start to mirror what you see in your minds eye and practice it in your day-to-day.

For example, do you see someone who sticks to a daily routine and prioritizes self-care? Take tangible steps towards that: wake up and go to bed at the same time every day, make time for exercise, and do whatever it is that you think will get you where you want to be.

Be Consistent
Adding to the previous section, not only do you need to visualize your goals and take steps to achieve them, consistent work daily to help boost your confidence. If you feel confident when you dress well, then dress well. If you feel confident when you practice a speech/presentation, then practice it multiple times to be consistent.

Give Yourself an Ego Boost
Congratulate yourself when you do things well! The same way compliments and acknowledgement from others can boost your self esteem, so can compliments you give yourself, so encourage yourself when you do things well. When you mess up, acknowledge it. Think about how you can improve and use what you learned from the mistake in future lessons; be comforted knowing it was a one-time mistake.

Take Care of Yourself
Make yourself feel good—this means hygiene, dress, and how you portray yourself to the world. It may seem cliche, but you have to look your best to feel your best.

I am by no means saying you have to be a runway model. But for instance, if you have a favorite outfit you feel great in, wear it on a day you have something important going on to give yourself a little confidence boost.

Think Positive
Stay calm and positive. It can be easy to dwell on the things you did wrong or could have done better, but it makes more sense to learn from those things and move on. Think about what you did right and build off of that.

Take on Challenges
Challenge yourself to do things out of your comfort zone—when something tough comes along, you know you’ll be able to tackle it the same way you tackled all the other challenges. Keep growing and expanding, it will give you the confidence of knowing you can handle anything.

If you incorporate even just a few of these tips into your everyday routine, I guarantee you will begin to feel and act more confident.

Tips for Asking Good Questions

I’m sure you’ve heard the phrase, “There’s no such thing as a dumb question,” right? It may be true, and of course it’s important to be curious and seek clarification, but that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t put any thought into the questions you ask—especially at work, where time is valuable and everyone is focused on their own tasks. If you want to be as effective and efficient as possible in your question-asking, here are a few strategies sure it impress your boss and grow you as an employee.

Do Your Research
Before running to your supervisor every time you encounter a question about an assignment or project, try doing a bit of research first to see if you can’t find the answer on your own. Explore online—there’s a good chance Google will know. If it’s a question someone else has already asked, the answer you’re looking for might be in an email chain or your notes. Take the couple of extra minutes to search your inbox—you don’t want to waste your supervisor’s time having to repeat information when the answer was already available you.

Make a Plan
Determine exactly the information you need before you ask your question. Have a purpose for what you are going to ask, and then do so efficiently. Is your question clear and concise? How much background information is actually necessary? Don’t beat around the bush, either, and don’t ask too many questions at once. Also find out what time of day is most convenient for your coworker or boss. Be respectful of their schedule so you’re not interrupting phone calls, meetings, or crucial work time. Make a plan, practice in your head, and then ask away.

Keep it Professional
Only ask questions you really need the answers to. Nosy, personal questions are distracting, unnecessary, and unprofessional. Ask questions relevant to the projects you are involved in and need to know about.

Be Authentic
Only ask questions you don’t know the answer to, and don’t use questions as an opportunity to push your opinion. If you have an opinion to share, state it openly. Don’t try to obscure it behind a question mark. Save asking questions for things you don’t know.

Be Thoughtful
Your supervisor will notice if you have taken the time to craft a quality question. Such thoughtfulness will demonstrate you are not only a capable employee, but are also respectful of their time. These well thought-out questions will also show your ability to iterate and improve your thoughts, as well as your ability to tackle challenges from every angle. So take the time to think about the topic at hand, figure out what you need to know more about, and then ask the appropriate question.

By following these principles, you may ask fewer questions, but you’ll find the more careful and intentional you are with your questions, the more you will ultimately learn. Such intentionality will help you to think critically and deeply, as well as impress your employers. Curiosity leads to improvement and growth, but only if you ask the right questions at the right time. So keep asking… after you think.

5 Fearless Ways to Achieve a Balanced Life

balanced

Wake up. Get up. Eat. Work. Sleep. Repeat. And in between, wait for the weekend with eager anticipation!

The office clock seems to be ticking slower than usual. There are forgotten dishes waiting to be done at home. Laundry to fold. Deadlines to meet. This is the reality that most of us are stuck with every single day, and the mere thought of it all makes your stress level rise astronomically. At times, it’s like the weekend can’t come soon enough.

In this fast-paced and highly stressful world, finding equilibrium is a challenge that seems impossible to achieve. On most days, you might even find yourself at your wit’s ends. Everyday living dictates that you should tick off the various items on your to-do list pertaining to work, home, health, religion, money, friends and family — it’s the ultimate, daily juggling act!

How exactly do we balance our lives in order to avoid a chaotic crash or worse, a burnout? Here are some tips that might work for you:

1. Choose single tasking. We all like to practice multitasking. After all, doing two things at the same time will generate more productivity on a given time frame. Or does it? The truth is quite the opposite. While multitasking forces you to shift from one task to another, single tasking allows you to focus on a single thing, making it more realistic to accomplish. Trying to meet that deadline? Your e-mails will have to wait.

2. Practice mindfulness. Do you find your thoughts to be wandering away while doing a particular task? Break this habit. Make a conscious effort to be in the present. Distractions are aplenty, but don’t let yourself be tempted. Periodically breaking off from whatever it is that you are working on to check what’s up on social media will only eat your time up ―trust that you won’t need to know what your officemate had for lunch or the details of an acquaintance’s mother-in-law’s woes! Mindfulness equals productivity and quality. Cultivate mindfulness by enhancing your ability to focus on the now: meditation and yoga are good aids.

3. An attitude of gratitude. Hashtag #blessed. Do you roll your eyes when you see it? As it turns out, being thankful for the little things (or big) does bring more happiness, contentment, and doses of positivity in life. Foster an attitude of gratitude; be grateful for the things that you DO have, rather than what you DON’T.

4. Exercise. No big secret here. Exercise releases happy hormones. People who exercise regularly sleep better, are more flexible, and are healthier (physically and mentally) than most. You don’t need a gym membership to do this: a tip is to incorporate exercise in your daily routine. Climb the stairs instead of the elevator, walk and take the longer route… And don’t stop at the physical aspect of exercise, do mental exercises! Read, solve puzzles, learn a new hobby or language!

5. Ask and you shall receive. If you feel overwhelmed with all the responsibilities, do not assume outright that people won’t care to lift a finger to help you. People love helping for the sole reason that it feels good. We are all looking for ways to pay back the kindness that have been shown to us beforehand.

How about you? What do you do to manage to stay on top?

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Chris Petersen has more than 30 years of experience in the technology and the financial services industry. She is an author, Fintech strategist, speaker and an advocate for women’s leadership. For a dose of inspiration, you can follow her on Twitter, Facebook or connect with her on LinkedIn.