Debra Searle Speaking on The Confidence Competence Loop
If you’re waiting to feel confident before you take action, you’re stuck in the wrong loop. The truth is confidence doesn’t come first. It grows after competence, and competence only comes from doing. Take it from someone who was a novice rower and ended up unexpectedly rowing the Atlantic solo!
This is what psychologists call the Confidence Competence Loop:
1. Take action. You start before you feel ready, even if it’s the smallest of steps. Your brain learns through evidence, so give it proof that you’re capable by taking the first small step.
2. Build competence. It might require accepting discomfort for a short time, as you won’t suddenly feel confident overnight, but if you allow yourself to feel vulnerable for a while, each attempt teaches you something new.
3. Gain confidence. Confidence grows from doing, not from thinking or talking about doing. Experience gives your brain real evidence that you’re capable. Confidence grows quietly in the background when you keep showing up.
4. Take more action. Avoidance feeds anxiety. The more often you face the thing that challenges you, the faster confidence builds. Frequency beats perfection every time.
Each cycle strengthens both your skill and your self-belief. I have shown this loop to many thousands of individuals and teams. I’ve seen how it has fuelled someone who was terrified of public speaking to start saying yes to small speaking opportunities. I’ve heard of team members who started running peer-led skill sessions. As individuals taught others, something they were initially reticent to do, their expertise deepened, and the whole group became more self-reliant and proactive.
If you would like me to speak at your conference or meeting and expand on this theme, contract Laura Topping - Laura [at] debrasearle dot com.
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