What Will This Day Be Like? I Wonder...

Perhaps The Sound of Music is on my mind from the live telecast last week, but I've had a song running through my head all morning - ironically, it's one of the songs from the film that wasn't even in this latest TV version. It's one Maria sings to herself when she's trying to work up the courage to face a new challenge, even though she's scared and feels out of her depth.  

Undoubtedly this song is on my mind because of a discussion with some of my new colleagues from work yesterday. We had reached the last day of our intensive five (six!) week long training program called Go90X that is designed to get us out of our comfort zones , and we were all sharing our thoughts on what we've discovered about ourselves  during the whole process.  Again and again, the subject of self-doubt and a lack of confidence kept coming up - and how while this is something many of us struggle with, we have been surprised by how unwarranted those doubts have proven to be once we barreled through them. 

Even when I was a professional actress, promoting myself in the business sense didn't come naturally to me. I always felt that if I could just get in the room in front of the right people, I would more than have the goods - it was the getting in the room part that was daunting.  I still struggle with putting myself out there at times - I've never enjoyed pushy salespeople and find that to be a huge turn-off, and I don't ever want to be perceived as such. But I've learned that there is a difference between being pushy and simply letting people know that I have something to offer of value.  

In the words of Oscar Hammerstein, " Let them bring on all their problems - I'll do better than my best. I have confidence they'll put me to the test, but I'll make them see I have confidence in me."  Making people aware of what I am and what I do for a living is something I can control; whether or not they choose to use my services is something I can't. And I'm okay with that. 

And now, "I Have Confidence" - have a listen!

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