confidence is silence

For administrative assistants, a good day means the office ship sails smoothly through any rough waters it may encounter. A good day means perfectly executed emails, successful extinction of figurative office fires, and happy, positive interactions with coworkers, clients, and your boss.

But, alas, we are all human, and from time to time, even the best assistants will make a mistake. These errors, big or small, can seriously rattle your confidence, and sometimes cause you to panic and snowball through the day into bigger disasters. When you feel like you’re “messing up” you can actually start to legitimately mess yourself up; that negative thinking bleeds into everything you do for the rest of the day, and, if you’re not careful, the week.

Losing your confidence can ruin your entire day.

Here are three easy ways to come back from a setback, and regain your confidence.

Take a walk. Think of your workspace as a relationship; sometimes, you just need some space, and that’s OK. It doesn’t mean you won’t come back and continue to be the amazing assistant you know you can be. It just means you need to take a brief time out. Taking a walk outside is ideal, but if you need to do a few laps through a different department or another floor, that works well. A study found that increased temperature had a positive effect on mood, so stand by a window and catch some sunlight if you absolutely can’t leave the office.

Phone a friend. We all have that friend that no matter what is going on, they always manage to put a positive spin on things. It’s difficult to remove yourself from a situation and see things diplomatically, but a third party will be able to help you put things in perspective and come up with solutions to whatever it is that has you down, rather than dwelling on the problem. If all else fails, you can always call Mom; she’s bound to have nice things to say about you!

Strike a pose. As Harvard Business professor Amy Cuddy says, “Fake it until you become it.” Cuddy, whose TED talk is among one of the most viewed on the site, says, “Standing in a posture of confidence, even when we don’t feel confident — can affect testosterone and cortisol levels in the brain, and might even have an impact on our chances for success.” So next time you’re feeling unconfident, take a cue from Cuddy, and strike a Wonder Woman. 

How do you regain your confidence? Let us know in the comments section below.

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