I was just reading an article from the co-founder of Netflix, Marc Randolph, about the 25 year anniversary of the company. He shared that “they simply believed that there “had to be a better way” to rent movies but along the way, we ended up not just changing the way the world consumes content, but how that content is created.” He also mentioned that every single person told him in the beginning that what he wanted to create with Netflix “would never work.” He trusted himself and chose not to listen to the people who said that to him. Look what has happened since they first started the company!
Trusting yourself as a leader is an important part of personal development and self-growth. Learning how to do this for yourself is a game changer. You no longer spend so much time comparing yourself to others. You simply listen to yourself, gather any additional input that you need, and make a decision. It helps you to move faster and be so much more confident. Here are a few things that can be helpful when it comes to building your own self-trust:
Practice self-awareness and reflection
To trust yourself, you need to have a clear understanding of who you are, what you value, and what you stand for. This requires self-awareness, which can be developed through introspection, mindfulness, and reflection. Take time to reflect on your experiences, decisions, and actions. Ask yourself what you did well, what you could have done differently, and what you learned from the experience. This will help you develop self-awareness and make more informed decisions in the future.
Be honest with yourself
Honesty is an essential component of self-trust. It’s important to be honest with yourself about your strengths, weaknesses, and limitations. When you’re honest with yourself, you can make better decisions that align with your values and goals. Check in with yourself to see if you are operating from a past belief or assumption, so you can do something different. Acknowledge your mistakes, but also recognize your successes and accomplishments.
Keep your promises
One of the best ways to build self-trust is to keep your promises. When you make a commitment to yourself, follow through on it. This can be as simple as setting a goal and working towards it like committing to go to the gym each day. It may be more complex where you need to make a major life change or a significant life decision. Slow down, listen to yourself, and then follow through. Keeping your promises builds self-trust and reinforces your ability to rely on yourself. Celebrate your successes along the way, and be patient with yourself when things don’t go as planned.
Learn from your mistakes
Everyone makes mistakes, but what’s important is how you learn from them. When you make a mistake, take responsibility for it and use it as an opportunity to learn and grow. Clean up any “messes” and address the situations quickly so they don’t linger. Work on failing forward faster and taking imperfect action instead. It helps to reduce the pressure to be perfect and allows you to take more risks. This can help you build your confidence, avoid making the same mistake in the future and build self-trust in the process.
Practice self-compassion
It’s important to be kind and compassionate towards yourself. Remember that self-trust is a process, and it takes time and effort to develop. When you make a mistake or fall short of your expectations, don’t beat yourself up. Everyone makes mistakes and experiences setbacks. Instead, practice self-compassion and treat yourself with the same kindness and understanding you would show to a good friend. This will help you build resilience and strengthen your self-trust over time.
There are so many examples of leaders who put trust in themselves and no matter what anyone said, they did what they thought was right. It isn’t always a perfect outcome, but they took action. They learned and made changes to improve things to make it better. Isn’t that a far better approach than listening to the doubters and naysayers who could prevent you from taking action at all? Put these steps into practice and see how much your self-trust grows!