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A. In your heart of hearts, have you begun to lose faith in your ability to achieve your career goals?
B. Are you getting discouraged, feeling that you can’t keep up with the demands of your financial advising career?
C. Do you look at your high achieving colleagues and wonder how they do it?
IF SO, STOP THAT SELF-DEFEATING, CONFIDENCE-BUSTING THINKING, RIGHT NOW!
Sure, that’s easier said then done. But, the point is, that it can be done , and changing your thinking patterns about your “lack of ability,” or feeling helpless and hopeless as it relates to your advising career is the perfect solution to your underachievement.
You are, indeed, gifted ! You studied business or finance. You passed all of those tests and license requirements. You have mastered the never-ending barrage of fiduciary, compliance and technology changes thrown at you. You have met and rained in new clients to your practice. You have diligently managed the financial security of many families. These truths identify who you are as a gifted advisor.
These are “gifts,” but so many advisors discount them and focus mainly on what they have not done, how they are not fulfilling their goals and career aspirations, how their colleagues seem to be attracting more clients and how difficult it is becoming to come into the office to face the grind every day.
Your Performance = Your Talent + Experience – Distractions. Take a close look at this formula for successful performance. You can have a ton of talent plus experience providing wealth management advice, communicating with clients, matching client needs to products, etc.; but if your mind is filled with distractions (e.g., negative, self-defeating thoughts), your performance will be diminished dramatically.
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The Permanent Solution:
Step #1 : YOU are ultimately in control of your self-talk. You can choose to beat yourself up with frightening thoughts about failure and feeling like you don’t have what it takes; or…you can say “STOP” whenever such thoughts enter your mind. Use a loosely fitting rubber band around your wrist to help you stop those thoughts dead in their tracks…snap away!
Step #2: Write down an “Identity Statement.” Do not worry about being modest. For example: “I am a very successful advisor. In my career, I have helped many families enhance and preserve their wealth. Many clients believe in me, trust me and know how I genuinely care about their financial security. I don’t have to be perfect to be successful, and I can quickly bounce back from setbacks, such as dealing with difficult clients or dramatic market fluctuations.”
This is an example of an “Identity Statement,” and you should have it handy for quick reference whenever you begin to have self-doubt.
Step #3: “Linguistic Nutrition” means using healthy, positive, optimistic self-talk, consistently. It serves to cleanse your subconscious mind and fills it with “flowers,” instead of “weeds” of self-doubt, lack of confidence and fear.
For a complete discussion of how to accomplish this, see my book, “The Financial Advisor’s Ultimate Stress Mastery Guide,”.