We tend to think effort and graft are the most critical ingredients to doing our work well. They're not.
The fact is that there's one, far more important and foundational requirement for success, as I discuss in today's episode.
All tagged Self Confidence
Omerisms Podcast - Episode 167
Sometimes, telling others - and ourselves - that we've arrived isn't a good thing.
In fact, as I discuss in today's episode, it can lead to a complacency that can derail everything that we've achieved so far. So that messaging, to others and to ourselves, is important.
The Work Of Being Self-Aware
Self-awareness is a tricky thing.
I mean, we intuitively recognize its importance, but truly practicing it - balancing it - is another thing altogether. Certainly, we’ve seen examples of folks who run the entire spectrum.
Those who are like a bull in a China shop, completely oblivious to whatever anyone around them says or thinks - or perhaps they are aware but simply don’t care or believe it’s necessary to consider their views.
Omerisms Podcast - Episode 145
In today's episode, I talk about how we make so many key decisions in our lives, not based on what we want, but on what others will think about them.
From the professional to the personal, we put credence where it doesn't belong, as compensating mechanisms, when really, at the end of the day, it's all down to us. We are responsible - no matter what.
What Is Self-Esteem?
I’ve always held to the view that the root cause of poor behavior (towards others) is low self-esteem. That’s always made sense to me: if we don’t have enough self-confidence or belief in ourselves, how can we expect to accept others’ (differing) perspectives - and not react in some way?
Well, Adam Grant posited a somewhat different - perhaps a more nuanced - point of view, based on research published in journals such as Psychological Review.
The Thing About Choices (Part 1)
There’s a perception many of us have that what we need is more choice.
It’s a perception that has filtered its way into all aspects of our lives.
When we’re deciding which college to go to, we’ll stack the number we apply to, to give us more options. I personally applied to 8 schools when I was planning on Business School, even though a couple of them I had absolutely no intention of attending, even if I got in. Why did I do that?
Omerisms Podcast - Episode 98
This month's podcasts draw lessons from popular culture.
Today's episode speaks to the importance of self-talk and our choice of words. But not simply in the most overt sense that we need to recite affirmations, but even in our most casual conversations with ourselves. Our self-talk matters.
Confidence versus Volume
In my last post, I talked about the Signal-to-Noise ratio and its applicability to our personal and professional lives - how we need to be able to look past the noise that we hear to the core signals, so that we can interpret and react to a situation appropriately.
There’s a related idea that Seth Godin highlighted in one of his recent posts that speaks to the idea of confidence versus volume. And that is, that we sometimes conflate the two - implicitly, when it’s coming from others, or explicitly, when we’re the ones doling it out.
The Thing About Respect
The thing about respect is that it isn’t something that’s bestowed upon us. We can’t simply expect respect as some sort of birthright, a product of our position or title or so-called standing. We have to earn it.
Our actions and behaviors are what enable us to earn it, enable us to command respect. That’s all on us. We own all of our outcomes.
Omerisms Podcast - Episode 38
This month's podcasts focuses on the mental aspect of how we work - on the why we get started, how we get caught in ourselves and the mental mindset needed to succeed.
In this episode, I talk about confidence, how it's difficult to gain but easy to lose. I also spell out the key behaviors, thought processes and tactics we should deploy to get it back. Our futures depend on it.
Regrets, I've Had A Few...
Very early on in my career, I went to meet a senior executive at one of the fastest growing entertainment companies in Asia.
At the time, I was a Marketing Executive in the Consumer Goods space and, while the work was interesting, I wanted to explore what else was out there, especially in this exciting new area that was taking Asia (I lived in Hong Kong at the time) by storm.
The Importance of Valorization
One of the things that I love about the Montessori education system is its focus on developing independence and confidence and instilling self-esteem in children.
In fact, one of the central tenets of that system is Valorization. I was reminded of this in a recent video from the RPMS school (which is where my kids went). Valorization is about:
Happy People Don't Act Like A**holes...
Happy people don't act like assholes. Generally speaking, my own unscientific survey over the last several decades suggests this to be true.
Think of the happy people you know. How do they act? What's their attitude to others around them? Folks who are happy tend to be comfortable with themselves, with what they have and who they are.
The Thing About Confidence
So, as anyone who follows English football knows, my team, Arsenal, is going through a pretty bad patch right now. There are a host of contributing factors to this, which I won't get into, but they've all culminated in a lack of belief within the team when they're on the field.