Need to gain clarity of my purpose
Feeling lost, I am 23 and will turn 24 this year. I quit my job last month, and I know that I have plenty of time in my hand, but I am not sure what to do next. I applied for many jobs but not getting any response. I am not sure if I want to to do a job or freelance or start a business.
I was so devasted last month that my entire confidence was shook. Now I am feeling good but dont have the correct path yet. My top issue is my confidence and public speaking. I fear of expressing myself to others professionally. Even though I am smart and have more than enough knowledge, still imposter syndrome gets me every time.
@OptimisticSoul7 i think you should try working on upwork which is a good freelancing platform and does not require public speaking etc and could help you gain confidence of your worth over time. I am so sorry for what you're going through. But i think confidence comes from achieving suitable milestones on personal and professional level which is necessary. And thats all i know. Wish you a very good luck on your journey. Tada
@OptimisticSoul7
Hello. Looking for a job must be a difficult time for you. I still remember having to send over 50 CVs several years ago, while I was looking for a job. And how depreciating it was when most of the cases I got no response at all. After all those years of studying hard and various courses...
But the good news is the job I really wanted, connected with my passion, was waiting there for me. I just had to hear my "inner voice" and visit another, less obvious website.
Did you mean your professional job (at least so far) has been connected with public speaking? If so, the reasons of how you feel may vary: It might be your low-self esteem, resulting from your family home background or previous life experience. It might be anxiety about being in situations you don't know what to expect from, and thus feeling insecure. And, yes, the impostor syndrome, which is more common than it looks...
For me one of the best way to face the impostor syndrome was saying to myself positive things like: "There is no one in sight who could do it better than you. So you have to take it 😉" or "Some people here may really count on you, and need you to stand up for them".
As for the public speaking, I remember reading the memoirs of a Top Gun military pilot school instructor. He made it clear they had never come to a lecture without attempting to speak several times in front of the empty audience - with just a friend or two, who tried to ask most troublesome questions and pointed out any possible inconsistent parts. Maybe that's the way we should all do that?
I understand your anxiety about being temporarily with no job. What I would like to tell myself from 25 years ago is: life is about transition times, too. Sometimes you are between jobs or between relationships, feeling useless or lonely. But actually it is your time to rest, re-adjust and grow, to enter some new realities (sometimes frightening at the very first moment) as better and stronger person.
If you would like to share what is most difficult for you in speaking in public, we could talk about it in more details.
For me the most difficult thing now is I am over 50, so I am worried how can I look. I used to be handsome, thick blonde hair. But now... 😉 And I know I tend to speak too fast sometimes, or blush on my face, or my mouth does not work perfect. I wonder what are your basic concerns?