Building Up Your Confidence in Todays Economy!

One of the main problems in today's economy is creating a feeling of confidence and security while many of those around us are losing their jobs or are already unemployed.

With unemployment over 8% and thought to go even higher, many of us feel as though we don't know whether or not we will continue to have a job to go to every morning. While this is understandable, that feeling may lead us to think of things differently and do things we otherwise might never do. To avoid creating an even worse situation for ourselves, we must channel our thoughts and actions in a positive direction.

Many people, when confronted with a bad situation, react with a kind of "reflex action" that makes matters worse. For example, a person who sees many of his co-workers lose their jobs or take severe pay cuts may adopt a "who gives a damn" attitude or even sabotage things to "get back" at the very company he works for. It is well known that factory workers will let damaged or wrong materials go out the door because they are unhappy with company security or performance. The problem with these types of actions is that it makes things worse for both the employees and the company itself.

What we should be doing in hard times is finding ways to increase our value to the company not do things to make us appear to be worth less. It is not a sign of disloyalty to figure out ways to minimize the loss of manpower. A good and valued worker will do their best to make changes to adapt to changes even while they mourn the loss of a co-worker.

Creating a higher perceived value for yourself helps accomplish two very important things. First, by increasing your value to the company you increase your chances of being one of the next employees to be laid off. Unless there are strict requirements to determine who gets laid off (such as seniority, for example) those with the lowest perceived value will often be let go first. Because of this, the more value you can provide to the company, the longer you will continue to have a job.

Second, the more you learn and the more value you create in yourself, the easier it will be to find a new or better job should the opportunity present itself. Today's society is all about what you bring to the table and what value you represent. If you take steps now to establish your ability to accomplish certain things, you can use that experience, and those examples, to demonstrate what you bring with you when you are hired.

Managers and executives want people who bring more to the table and demonstrate the ability to change and adapt. They want people who respond well and resolve problems. They do not want people who create or become part of problems. In short, they want problem solvers not problem makers!

The great thing about learning how to adapt to changing situations is that the more you adapt to change the more your confidence grows. The more you show others what you can do the more you believe in yourself. It is widely accepted that those people with a higher level of self-confidence perform at a higher level because they are not afraid to tackle problems or take risks. People with higher levels of confidence become self-starters and are not afraid to take the lead and become leaders.

Building confidence is easy. Take a problem situation and figure out how to adapt and resolve it. Start small and show yourself what you are capable of accomplishing. When you are successful, take a few moments to tell yourself what you just accomplished. When you fail, take a few moments to tell yourself what you did wrong so you will not do the same thing again. As you tackle more and more situations, your confidence will grow as you see yourself doing more and more.

You cannot grow your confidence by sitting back and letting others step up and do what needs to be done. To start, partner with someone who can show you the way and teach you how they do things. Learn from them and implement the same things they do in your approach. Take what works and let go of what doesn't work. As you go on, you will become more confident and others around you will respect you more and your perceived value will rise.

As your value rises, so does your chances of remaining secure in your current position. At the same time, you will be preparing yourself for a newer or better position in the future.

David V. Greis
The Customer Service Training Institute