On The Way To More Confidence.
At the foundation of every new action is confidence. Dan Sullivan of The Strategic Coach has been teaching this for over 20 years and it still rings true to this day. Lately he has added three steps to round it out as the “Four C’s.”
Commitment
Before you begin any type of new work, growth or change you have to fully commit. Tony Robbins says this is actually the hardest part. “I believe life is constantly testing us for our level of Commitment, and that life's greatest rewards are there for those who demonstrate a never-ending Commitment to act until they achieve."
Courage
Next in the process is Courage. Not a popular word these days. In years past young men and women were almost always defined by how Courageous they were. Now it seems to have fallen out of vogue and maybe because is it just so darn hard. It is not fun and not always rewarding but it is a vital component to progress. Change is scary and even if you meet someone who happily says, “Oh I love change, nothing makes me happier”… they are rare. I have found the best source of Courage is the encouragement of a friend. If I am having a down day {and please know we ALL have down days} so if I am stumbling a little I will call a friend and let them know and if they have your back they will quickly fill your heart and mind with good reasons to keep going. Another way to bolster your Courage is to find a quite place, take out a sheet of paper and write down 10 things you have done in your life that took some audacity. My guess is after you have finished #24 and you are still going, deep thoughts and feelings of Courage will be coursing through your life.
Capability
Isn’t it interesting this is the last step before Confidence sets in and yet most of us lead with it? If you are a skilled technician all the way from a cook with incredible knife skills to a counselor who has brought many back from the brink or a Mom doing THE most important job on the planet we all have skills and often lead with them when working on something new. After all it is our shiny golden sword. Why would we lead the good fight with something as seemingly mundane as Commitment when our Capabilities have taken us so far? But the next time you are in growth mode – fully Commit, then have Courage and keep Courage near by and when you start having successes by applying your Capabilities, Confidence will soon be yours for the taking.
Confidence
Doesn’t it help to know that when you are starting something new that confiance will probably not be there until you have gone through the cycle of the “Three C’s"? The cool thing is after you have achieved the goal you were fighting for, take that confidence that is running high and start the process all over again toward your next goal and the one after that. This will give you the mental clarity and focus needed to go through the cycle again and you might just need less of the Three C’s because confidence has this beautiful way of filling in the cracks along the way.