3 Resources to Help You Be Unflinchingly Yourself

“I want to be able to unflinchingly introduce myself and what I do.”

Unflinching. 

Whoa. That word has stuck with me ever since that conversation.

I picture a superhero, cape flapping behind in the wind, loudly proclaiming “I am here to serve you!” 

Except in this day and age, we’d probably just walk by with an eye roll and go back to our phones. 

But articulating who you are with confidence is something we all aspire to. 

And it is something that makes us all flinch! 

In nine cohorts of our Future Proof course, I have yet to come to the personal statement part without people stalling. 

The higher your accolades or position, the harder it is. As a recent NYT article on learning says the “obstacle to the willingness to learn is the urge to present yourself as always already informed”. 

You were raised for a linear life; to explain with pride and security that you are on track or ahead of the game. 

And the game has changed.

We are all dealing with acceleration of change and multiple transitions of all kinds in life. We’re living so long we’re outlasting the very linear model we thought we’d mastered! 

Now you have to transcend the old game and find new ways to be brave, articulate your passion, purpose and the pains you are inspired to solve.  

You have to “find your story” in a way that lets us show up on an ongoing basis for new opportunities.

Here are 3 Resources to help you navigate this new world, now and in the future:

1. Master the capacity to adapt.
   According to Forbes, Non-Linear Career Paths Are The Future because people are living longer, looking for more purpose and engagement and “companies now want flexible workers who can adapt to evolving work situations”.
   
   In one sense, the new game is a capacity for adaptation. So look at the work you’ve done and think about how it has helped you be more adaptable.
   
   What were your key challenges and how did you overcome them?
   
   What were your pivots, how did they turn out and what did you learn from them?
   
   What lessons have you learned from moments when you allowed yourself to start at the beginning in order to adapt to the situation?  
2. Write your challenges into the script.
   I’ve been reading a book called  Life Is in the Transitions: Mastering Change at Any Age. In it author Bruce Feiler talks about how many more transitions the average Jane or Joe has in a lifetime and how the many people he interviewed coped with these.
   
   Let go of the idea of linear life and practice reframing, letting go and creating meaning from these transitions. Cast yourself as the hero in your own story when the wolf is at the door. 
   
   
3. Let values and purpose lead your story.
   If you’ve done the work on your values, how can you articulate the why, what and how of what you do?

Articulating something beyond rank and title was why my MBA students asked me to create the Personal Branding with Purpose mini-course.

With life-long practices like the life map, story log and elevator pitch, each experience you have becomes a piece of the mosaic of your life. 

Change isn’t easy, but anticipating some twists and turns takes the fear out of a unique introduction rather than the temptation of sticking to old narratives that prove to be brittle and unsustainable. 

What have you found to help you unflinchingly tell your story?

Liked this story? Subscribe and share.