VIDEO: Don’t Let Self-Down Get You Down

Too often, we look at people who we deem successful as having been successful their entire lives. We also assume they live a life full of confidence.

Thank goodness there are people like Tom Hanks to set us straight. Speaking last year on NPR’s “Fresh Air,” Hanks revealed that he was plagued by doubt: “There are days when I know that 3 o’clock tomorrow afternoon I am going to have to deliver some degree of emotional goods,” and he’s not always ready to deliver.

You must learn to overcome self-doubt, he says. “[Y]ou cannot sweat too much the possibility that you are making a … mistake.”

Confidence emerges from accomplishment. The challenges may be new and seem overwhelming but for most of us, there is something from our past that may give us the impetus to take on something new. A kernel of confidence emerges and so we plow ahead.

Failure comes when we give into defeat. Refusing to give in and pushing forward requires determination. Great leaders are those who leverage failure to achieve success.

First posted on SmartBrief on 1/20/2017