Mindfulness and confidence

When looking up a recipe recently, I laughed out loud at cook and food writer Rachel Kelly’s line, “cue readers’ eye-rolling and thoughts of course you make your own bread, you’re a Guardian reader. I bet you knit your own lentils too’…”

I laughed because I’m guilty of that stereotyping, thinking that back-to-nature efforts are just too ‘mung bean’ and ‘worthy’ for a pragmatist/realist like me to bother with. But I've noticed a correlation between mindfulness and confidence, especially in our ever-busier world, where change is hitting us with velocity and we struggle to be heard.

Slowing down and being more aware of your brain and emotions boosts your confidence

Like my derision of the ‘mung bean’ brigade, I had an equally dismissive view of mindfulness, largely because, like well-being before it, mindfulness has become a catch-all/solve-all panacea for the ills and unhappiness of the modern world.

But there is something at the core of mindfulness and the value of meditation - taking time to think - that even non-hippies like me can benefit from.

Being present and being aware aren’t bad things. Ever.

Far too often, we rush into things on autopilot, racing around the track to get to the finish line and jumping in, doing what we’ve done before to get a task completed, whether or not (usually not) that delivers the best result or the highest quality. We’re too busy being busy to be aware of what we are doing or why.

Based on decades of professional and coaching experience, I have seen it proven that:

If we spent a bit more time thinking and a bit less time dashing about, then we’d be happier AND more effective in our work.

The dictionary definition of meditate is ‘to plan something in your mind; to consider doing something; synonym – contemplate.’

Planning is good. Consideration is good. Contemplation… good. So, why don’t we do more of them?

And why aren't we doing more to link confidence and mindfulness? People with admirable professional presence project calm, strength and awareness. People with gravitas do not dash. They don't scurry around looking in a flap. No, they might walk fast, but they stride with purpose. Confident people sit still. They are present, grounded. They reflect. They are incisive and decisive because they are clear about what needs to happen to get the right result. They cut through the noise to get to what is important.

They will be very busy, but there is a huge difference between being busy and being productive. Busyness is damaging us, our happiness, our effectiveness and our ability to do good work. Competitive busyness is a workplace disease that is infecting our ability to produce and perform, to create, to advance, to deliver, to appreciate.

Making the time to think, meditating on the best way to do something, contemplating options until we find the right one…that’s what we need to be doing more of.

If you’re overwhelmed by being busy and would like to feel more effective, why not get in touch for some Career Therapy and talk to me about easy steps that can take the pain out of your work life? I promise I won’t make you chant or meditate!

Click ‘Book a call’ on the website for a free intro call or email me at louise@careertherapy.co.uk

Why not follow me for more career confidence-boosting tips, tools and talks:

LinkedIn Louise Newton

Instagram @career_therapy_uk

If you'd like to receive no-fluff, practical insights direct to your inbox, why not sign up for the twice-monthly Career Therapy Newsletter? It’s packed full of thoughtful career support, grounded in years of coaching experience - and real life.

Check out my other articles on careers and confidence: You can grow your confidence, Pick your shine time, 5 steps to building confidence and Want more confidence? Take control. 

Rachel Kelly is the author of the food blog Marmaduke Scarlet  Photo by Anna Seang on Unsplash