To Succeed You Need More Than Confidence

Many of my clients fear making mistakes. I don’t mean they’re a bit uneasy about it: they’re terrified of not doing things right because they imagine vague catastrophic consequences if they do something wrong. They believe the problem is their lack of confidence. In part, they’re right. But they’re also missing another trait for success. My middle-aged client Mandy had many jobs in her life and left each one because she was unhappy, never because her work was shoddy or criticized. She was, in many ways, an outstanding employee—reliable, honest, detailed, genial, and a quick learner. But each time she left a job, she quaked at beginning a new one. “What if I can’t do it and make too many mistakes?” she worried. “What if I can’t perform the way they want me to? I need more confidence.” While it’s true that she needed to feel more confident, it’s also true...