Lack of Confidence. This one often goes hand in hand with our previous issue. If you are told OFTEN enough, at a young enough age, that YOU HAVE FAILED, you will start to internalize that, and make it your own. DO NOT EVER let anyone label you with an ID that you don’t agree with 100% of the time.

a.       So in order for you to BE a FAIURE it would mean that you have NEVER gotten anything right. Yet we have ALL won the good fight once or twice in our lives. We may not have been able to stand up and be recognized in front of 1000’s of people, but surely there have been times when you’ve won. Whether it was the bowling tournament on the weekend, or the science fair when you were six, there is a time when you were the best. THOSE are the times that you need to pull out every now and then and hold on tightly. DON’T live for them, but in those moments when you feel like NOTHING is going right, that’s when you’ll need them the most.

b.      Have a more PLAYFUL and LESS serious attitude about life! I don’t mean goof off when you’re supposed to be working, but find SOMETHING that’s fun just for the sake of fun, and revel in it! Did you like the show “The greatest American Hero? That was NOT great writing by any means, but for 30 or 60 minutes it was fun just for the sake of being fun. Find a few of those and hang on to them. Maybe bring in some silly things and place them on your desk to remind yourself that no matter HOW serious your day to day job should be, you ALWAYS stay in touch with that little child that we all grew up with, and put it within your reach, so when things get TOO serious or TOO overbearing, what should YOUR outcome be?