Confidence has most likely been the one thing that held me back from making the right decisions. I’d make decisions based on fear that it’s not going to work out. I wish I would’ve felt more confident in myself, including my UX skills. More confident in finding clients, confident that things will work out.

Gaining confidence takes time, so this won’t be a quick fix to the problem. But there’s a quick exercise you can do to increase your confidence a little 👇

How to become confident

It’s easier said than done. But check out this podcast snippet with my friend Kai. He explains how to become confident in 4 simple steps. You can also listen to the full podcast episode on Apple or Spotify. It’s probably still my favourite episode of the Freelance Blueprint to date 🤫 - but don’t tell the other podcast guests I said that.

Work on your confidence

There’s no magic trick to suddenly becoming confident. But there are some exercises you can do to improve your confidence over time.

Write down what you’ve achieved

Maybe you’re confident in your skill set but not confident that you’ll find a client. But guess what, once you start freelancing, you’ll get your first client. And then another and another. I didn’t believe that someone would hire me when I started my freelance career in 2019. But I’ve been booked 80% of my first year and now I feel confident that whenever I’m looking for a gig, I’ll find one.

So today, find proof of why your goal of becoming a freelancer is going to work out. There will have been things in the past that you thought were not possible. But somehow you found a way 🙌

Write down everything that felt unachievable but you’ve achieved it ✍️

What felt difficult when you started but you still achieved it?

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Maybe it was getting a driver’s licence. And now you don’t think twice when you drive a car.

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Maybe it was your first solo-trip. You might have worried that you’ll feel lonely and struggle to get around. But it all turned out ok, hasn’t it? It might even have been one of your best experiences? And now booking a solo-trip won’t feel as daunting - you might even look forward to it!

Write down everything that comes to mind. And you’ll see: Things might feel hard when you’ve not done them before, but it’ll get easier over time and you’ll feel confident in doing it.

Brownie Points

If you found this exercise helpful, you can also just jot down all the things you’re good at. We often take for granted the things that come naturally to us. But it took us time to learn those skills. And being aware of those will also make you more confident.

For example, maybe you’re good at communicating. Maybe you’re attentive, a good listener. Maybe you’re good at listening to feedback or resolve conflicts.

All these skills are valuable. And being aware of them will make you more confident 💪

Little reminder

Things will work out. There’s been so many things in the past where you might not have thought that it’ll work out. Sometimes things might have taken longer than you would’ve liked them to. But in the end, it’ll work out. And if it didn’t work out yet, it’s not the end.

Hopefully this little exercise helped. But if it’s not confidence but something else that is holding you back, mail me and let me know what’s standing in your way. Maybe I can help you resolve this blocker.

👩🏻‍💻 Free Guide

The exercise described in this blog article is one of the steps of my free guide for people who want to create a work life that works for them.

Get the guide for free.