Looking Back – Moving Forwards

Thinking about returning to work? Or feeling that you need to build confidence in the workplace? Paul Ryan, a close associate of Ten2Two, shares a great exercise if you’re considering reentering the world of employment – or if you just need a confidence boost!

As we all know, when you have been out of the working environment for some time, the notion of going back into it is both exciting and daunting. Things change, technology moves on and your confidence may have suffered since you’ve been out of the workplace.

So here’s a wonderful technique I would like you to try, to help you build confidence, refocus in the positive. And put you right back in the driving seat of your own working future, with a real sense of ‘Can Do, Will Do’.

Remember that you’re brilliant

Get a pen and a piece of paper and write down everything you have ever done that you did brilliantly. Set aside at least an hour with no interruptions to do this.

In writing this, I want you to go through all the moments of your life that have made you proud, whether in your private or professional life. Go into real detail. Recall how these achievements made you feel. What is it about them that made them special? Avoid being modest and self-effacing. I want this to be a real celebration of everything that you ever got right.

A lot of people who are returning to work after being a full time Mum or Dad are standing at a crossroads in their life. Joining Ten2Two represents the first step in the direction that they have finally chosen to take.

So, it’s really important to take stock and remind yourself that you are an amazing and talented individual, able to cope with adversity; and that you have sufficient resilience to cope with the good times and the bad.

Don’t listen to any negativity

The brain is an amazing thing. It’s so good at so many things but it has a strange default when it comes to allowing ourselves to remember what we are good at. But we very quickly forget our past triumphs. We forget who we are and all that we have done. It’s all too easy to listen to the negative voices in our head, bringing us down and rendering us impotent.

But if we remind ourselves of our past triumphs, we awaken all the positive feel-good energy of the thing that we have remembered.

It’s like going into a room that smells of fresh coffee, flowers or baked bread – the smell hits your senses and your awareness level is high. After a few minutes though, your mind has moved on and your awareness of the aroma has vanished. Well, that’s what happens to our memories regarding past achievements and the feelings associated with them – ones of triumph, satisfaction, pride or a keen awareness of our talents and abilities.

A ‘Can Do, Will Do’ attitude

Well done! Now you have armed yourself with a weapon to combat that strange cerebral glitch. You have just written an aide memoire you can return to and awaken your ‘Can Do, Will Do’ muscle. I bet when you were writing your list of achievements you started to get all fired up. I bet you had a surge of really positive energy as you recalled what you got right. Well, here’s the thing. All that you wrote down actually happened. I want you to own that sense of ‘Can Do’ positivity as you embark on your job finding odyssey.

Also, in going back over all you have done and all you have seen, you will have rediscovered the greatest tool you have in your arsenal for success:

YOU.

YOUR STORY.

YOUR LIFE…

This article includes an excerpt from Paul’s new book ‘How to Network your Way to Success’ now available on Amazon. Or find out more about Paul here.