I was waiting on a call from a prospective Client. As I sat there waiting, she was delayed at a prior meeting, I realized I was nervous; not a lot – just some.
My first internal response was to criticize my nervousness. After all, I’m the guy who is all about confidence. Quickly searching for self-encouragement, I landed on “nervous and confident are compatible.” I do believe this is true as long as my nervousness doesn’t impede my performance.
But now I have to ask, “What caused my nervousness?” Was it self-doubt? Was it fear – that I might not appear competent? A yes to either of these questions would surely not be in line with confident behavior.
And suddenly I’m reminded of a great truth about confidence:
“Realize it’s not how you feel that determines how you act, rather how you act determines how you feel.” - unknown
