We held our latest Balancing Work and Cancer webinar yesterday. Joining us for the afternoon session was Dr. Sage Bolte leading a presentation on Building Confidence at Work. There can be so many physical, mental and emotional changes during and after cancer treatments, which understandably, may impact body image and self-confidence. Dr. Bolte walked us through techniques and tools to cope with those changes and build back body confidence.
One of my favorite pieces of advice she gave (in addition to things like professional therapy or seeking support from people who have been in a similar situation) is creating a “Go To” list. These are ways of self-reflection to highlight what is great about you as a person, and something you can turn to on days when you need a boost. The lists include:
- At least five of your strengths — for example, honesty, persistence, courage, friendliness, creativity
- At least five things you admire about yourself — for example the way you have raised your children, your work ethic, your good relationship with your brother or your spiritual life
- The five greatest achievements in your life so far, like recovering from a serious illness, learning another language, graduating from high school or learning to use a computer
- At least 20 accomplishments — they can be as simple as learning to tie your shoes to getting an advanced college degree
- At least five ways you can "treat" or reward yourself that don't include food and that don't cost anything, such as sleeping in an extra 15 minutes, walking in woods, taking a bath, looking at something beautiful or something that you enjoy, watching a movie that makes you laugh, or chatting with a friend
- Five things that can make you laugh
- Five things you could do to help someone else
- Five things that you do that make you feel good about yourself (dressing nice just because, praying, listening to music, etc.)
We hope you can join us for our next webinar on Wednesday, June 7th where we will be joined by career coach Julie Jansen talking about Job Search. If you’re not already registered, you can do so here.
For more information on Building Confidence check out: