How do you become more confident at work? The first thing you have to do is to switch your approach from passive to active. You should not have to bend over backward for anyone and just accept that this slavery is just your fate. You should feel that this is something you do because you have chosen it and because it brings you joy. Changing your way of thinking like this will set you free.
Here are three specific things I learned during my time in the armed forces that have helped me throughout my career:
1. Pragmatism
In the army, if the sergeant makes you make your bed five times in a row because he thinks it does not look good, it has nothing to do with the bed or with you. The sergeant is testing how you take the pressure. When this happened to me I decided that they were not going to get to me and I kept my composure. Inside I was actually smiling.
2. Be in better shape than the others
A lot of the hard work in the Armed forces is physical. Road races, gymnastics, marches and unpacking. In order to survive this, you have to be in your best shape. Most of the other troops exercised once or twice a week. I trained three to four times. This meant that I got top scores on the tests, physically I struggled less and I gained more respect.
3. Inner motivation
I kept my eyes on the prize. I was constantly thinking of what I had to gain at the end of the training. I used a bright future as motivation, I kept thinking ahead, not overly focussing on what I was doing there and then.
Topic: Motivation Mastery
