Some of the advice that I dispense on this website and in this blog will be specifically for women. However, some of it can be used by both men and women. That is because there are challenges in the professional realm—and in life in general—that is shared by both genders.
One way to look at it is by imagining a Venn diagram. According to Investopedia, a Venn diagram is “an illustration that uses circles to show the relationships among things or finite groups of things. I hate to say this, but the older you are, the more likely you have seen and/or used this type of diagram.
In the “imaginary example” that I’m using here, the diagram has two circles, which is standard. These circles intersect, so that there is space shared by both of them. One circle is labeled “Professional Challenges Faced by Women in the Employment Marketplace.” The other circle is labeled “Professional Challenges Faced by Men in the Employment Marketplace.” Since that is the case, the overlap area of the circles—the space that they share—involves the challenges faced by both men and women.
On this website and in this blog, I will be dealing with two of the three areas of our “imaginary” Venn diagram. Those areas are the professional challenges faced by women only and the professional challenges faced by both men and women. I will almost never address professional challenges faced by men only, BUT I might do so if those challenges have an impact on women and their opportunities for success.
Today’s topic falls within that shared space. It is challenge for both men and women, although I would opine that women face it more often and are more susceptible to falling prey to it. The challenge, in question, is this: what a person believes.
What a person believes has a huge impact on how successful a person is. That is because what a person believes informs their worldview and is a catalyst for their assessment of situations and the decisions, they make based upon those assessments. Which beliefs, you might be asking right now? That is a good question, and the answer is rather broad one. Any and all beliefs fall within our purview and are applicable to this discussion, but there is one belief that stands out from the rest.
That belief is what a person believes about themselves.
This belief is, far and away, the most important one regarding a person’s professional pursuits and their chances of reaching both their goals and their potential. However, this belief is not at all straightforward. Take, for instance, the fact that there are two type of beliefs that a person has about themselves:
- The conscious beliefs about themselves
- The subconscious beliefs
You might think that a person’s conscious beliefs would weight more heavily in their day-to-day activities and the decisions they make about their life. That, unfortunately, is not the case. Instead, it is a person’s subconscious beliefs that frequently frame a person’s outlook, including about their professional situation and their prospects for success. You will probably agree that a person is not directly responsible for all of the subconscious beliefs they have about themselves. That is because everyone with whom they have had a relationship, especially a familial one, has contributed to that belief system. Some of these beliefs are deep seated, not easily recognized, and likely to hold a person back from going after the things that they truly want.
According to a study published in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology titled, “Age and Gender Differences in Self-Esteem—A Cross-Cultural Window,” researchers found that self-esteem tended to increase with age, from adolescence to adulthood. However, here is the catch”
Men at every age tended to have higher levels of self-esteem than women worldwide.
At every age. Not every other age. Not every third age. Every single age. And not just in one geographical area, either. This is not just constrained to a single country or even continent. We are talking worldwide. All countries, all continents, all over the world.
Do you think that a person who has higher levels of self-esteem will perform better at their job? Do you think they will receive a promotion and/or a raise more often? And if they do enjoy a measure of success, how likely is it that they will believe they deserve that success?
Perhaps even more telling is this question: Who is likely to perform better during an interview, the person with higher self-esteem or the person with lower self-esteem?
And what is a natural byproduct of high self-esteem? Confidence. And all of these same questions apply if we only replace the word “self-esteem” with “confidence.” You can see how all of this is connected and what a slippery slope we are dealing with, especially for women. What you believe about yourself feeds your self-esteem and your self-esteem fuels your confidence. High self-esteem contributes to greater confidence, and low self-esteem does not.
And that is why what you believe is the most important factor in your success.
As I mentioned earlier, this is a challenge for both men and women . . . but it is more a challenge for women than men. Once again, according to the study cited above, men at every age tended to have higher levels of self-esteem than women worldwide. So, while this does affect men to a certain degree, it is clear that they have had a “head start” in this area. And they have had that “head start” for quite a long time.
Yes, you have beliefs about other things in your life, including your professional life. These things include your job, your boss, and your co-workers and colleagues, to name just a few. And your beliefs about these people and these things are also factors in your success, but keep in mind that what you believe about yourself also affects what you believe about your job, your boss, and your co-workers.
So . . . what do you believe about yourself? If you have never asked that question—seriously asked it—then there is no time like the present to do so. You answer, both right now and in the future, will directly affect your professional journey and impact how much satisfaction you derive from it.