Taking on a bigger challenge
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Bigger roles and increased responsibilities come with both feelings of excitement and anxiety. Excitement about the opportunity to show people what you’re capable of, but anxiety in case things go wrong or you’re unable to deliver.
And whilst those feelings of anxiety are unsettling – the truth is, it’s rare that you’ll ever feel 100% ready for new opportunities you get given. Sometimes you may feel 95% ready – for example where you’ve been preparing and someone has been mentoring you – and sometimes you may be completely uncertain about your ability to deliver on the work. But the good news is, this is completely normal – most people feel like that!
Here’s some advice to help you manage the anxiety of taking on a bigger challenge:
Avoid the trap of thinking that everyone else would immediately be able to tackle this challenge and that it is only you that can’t. Everyone is in this situation when facing something new.
And whilst those feelings of anxiety are unsettling – the truth is, it’s rare that you’ll ever feel 100% ready for new opportunities you get given. Sometimes you may feel 95% ready – for example where you’ve been preparing and someone has been mentoring you – and sometimes you may be completely uncertain about your ability to deliver on the work. But the good news is, this is completely normal – most people feel like that!
Here’s some advice to help you manage the anxiety of taking on a bigger challenge:
- Don’t be nervous. You’ve been appointed into that role or given that opportunity because whoever has put you there trusts you. Allow that to give you some confidence!
- Don’t eat the whole elephant. Most big tasks can’t be achieved in one attempt, so don’t succumb to the pressure to get everything done at once. Take the time to plan which bits you’re going to tackle first and start from there.
- Get a view of your bosses’ expectations. A certain amount of anxiety comes from not understanding the expectation of the person setting you the task or appointing you to the new role. This can often lead to you setting your own, much higher expectations – putting yourself under undue and unnecessary pressure.
- Get some early wins under your belt. If you need a quick confidence boost, look for the low hanging fruit – find the stuff that you can accomplish quickly and early.
- Use the people around you. In a lot of situations your colleagues will have seen someone else do the job before you got it and know what’s supposed to happen. Don’t be afraid to talk to the people around you and collaborate with them.
Avoid the trap of thinking that everyone else would immediately be able to tackle this challenge and that it is only you that can’t. Everyone is in this situation when facing something new.