How to Believe You’re Doing Enough

It’s April. Just like that, we’re well into the year.

 

It can be easy for us to ask: Where did the year go?

 

Before panicking and wondering – “What have I accomplished? Did I do enough?” – I’m going to help you build and exercise your self-awareness muscle.

 

Here’s why:

 

You can’t move forward if you don’t know where you’ve been.  And

 

There is no way anyone will believe you are capable, valuable and unique, if you don’t believe it yourself.

 

Knowledge and belief require information.

 

To get the information, you need to be intentional by booking time to reflect, celebrate and learn.

 

When you do this, you will

 

• Stop feeling like an imposter
• Start feeling confident
• Avoid the repetition of mistakes and
• Be able to connect-the-dots for your boss or potential employer on what you’ve accomplished and how the results have supported your organization’s mission or benefited other stakeholders!

 

From Intention to Reflection

 

Invest time to answer the following questions:

 

What’s one thing I wanted to accomplish this year?

What progress have I made?

What is the result of the progress?

What benefit has this progress had for myself, the organization I work for, and/or others?

 

Translating Reflection into Belief

 

After you’ve answered the questions, notice how you feel.

 

Now that you see the data, do you believe it?

 

To support your belief, do something to celebrate your progress and success.

 

I know it can be hard to celebrate accomplishments because the norm is not to brag.

 

But being with what you’ve accomplished erodes imposter syndrome.

 

It’s hard to feel like an imposter when you feel in your bones that you have accomplished something as a result of your initiative, insight, and expertise.

 

Nurture your belief in yourself by sitting with the proof of how your actions make a difference. 

 

Let the proof build your confidence.

 

What Have I Learned?

 

There are so many opportunities for us to learn if we choose to take them. They can help us avoid failures as well as repeating mistakes. If you can do this, you’re setting yourself up for success.

 

So, reflect on these 3 questions:

 

What have I learned?

How can I apply this learning to accomplish what I want this year?

What actions can I take next to apply the learning? 

*Tip: The more specific you are about the actions you can take, the likelier you are to make progress or course-correct to achieve what you want.

 

Did I Do Enough?

 

After answering the questions above, what is your answer to the question: Did I do enough?

 

I bet you the answer is, “Yes!”

 

It’s followed by an enthusiastic: “And I can do more!”

 

You’ve got the data. You made progress on what you wanted to accomplish. You know the result of that accomplishment and the benefit.

 

Use this information to help you continue achieving what you want.

 

Also, use it to convey to others your belief that you are capable, valuable, and unique.

 

Practically this can look like sharing:

 

• the information in a performance review
• how your experience makes you perfect for a job, in an interview
• the information with potential collaborators for future projects

 

You have all you need to share with them from the responses to the questions above.

 

Remember, you’ve also learned some things. Use this information to help you succeed.

 

Here’s to you achieving what you want this year!