COVID's impact on confidence

Staring at the twelfth month of working from home and I have to say, I’m struggling. More than once I’ve sat down to write this post but I just couldn’t bring the words to the surface. I’ve even started this blog post more than once but have never felt like I could craft a message clear enough for public consumption. I’ve decided to do it anyway.

The articles said we would be more productive from home. We wouldn’t be distracted, we’d save money on lunches, we would regain all sort of time from cancelling our commute. All sounding too good to be true. Even as an introvert I’ve missed the catch-ups. The walk to a meeting where you solved more problems than in the meeting itself. The check-in when your body language projected ‘I’m overwhelmed’ and people offered support.

All of this time alone has my confidence in a fragile state. I’ve questioned my contributions and my value when I haven’t felt needed in the same way. I recognize how much of my confidence is rooted in those casual requests for help or impromptu problem solving sessions. I couldn’t identify what exactly I was missing but I participated in a webinar a few weeks ago, I pretty quickly had clarity when I realized that people wanting to listen to my contributions was filling a hole that has existed for some time.

Helping people identify a problem, and working collaboratively towards resolutions is what fuels my confidence. Solving those problems on my own isn’t enough.

Be kind to yourself and find the thing that fuels your confidence!