Once upon a time, there was a princess living in an expansive castle in the far away land of All. This princess was born into a world where her every need was catered to and her every wish was granted without even needing to ask for it. She grew up never wanting for a thing and became a powerful queen, married the spouse of her dreams, had two beautiful children, and lived happily ever after. The End.
And that, my friends, is what we call a fairy tale.
We all grew up with them and know that they aren’t real, but how amazing would it be to have everything you ever wished for without having to actually ask for it.
But that is not the reality of the world we live in. We have to ask for what we want and take it when the opportunity arises.
And while it’s not always the case, generally speaking, women are very uncomfortable with this approach. Many women feel the need to have the skills and experience before going after their next job, asking for a raise, or stepping up to get what they want or deserve. There’s a common mentality of doing good work begets reward; that we shouldn’t have to ask for it because we’ve proven that we deserve it already.
But that is as close to a fairy tale as the wonderful land of All.
Time and time again, we let opportunities pass us by because we lack confidence or have blocks in front of us that we aren’t able to overcome without serious effort. But I have all of the confidence in the world in you and your ability to get what you want.
Do not be afraid to go after what you want. When you are facing these moments of low confidence or the idea of waiting for opportunities to come to you lurks in the background, take a moment to reflect and ask yourself:
What is keeping me from going after this opportunity?
What would I have to do to remove that obstacle?
What have I accomplished already that is transferrable to this opportunity?
How have I proven that I can take on new challenges and be successful?
How can I translate that to inner confidence into action to go after what I want?
And then go get it!
And if you need a little extra help in taking that first step – we can help. Contact us today to learn how.
Article inspired by Susan Johnson.