Confidence, a How-To
I meet with a number of students that feel the incredibly normal nerves of starting something new. They come to me knowing where the passion is and hope to turn that into a career they will love forever. The whole process of starting this new path can be a bit daunting, perhaps even overwhelming for some. The key to success is confidence in oneself, but what to do if you are not quite yet feeling it?
One of my favorite motto’s I’ve repeated time and again to my students is, “Fake it ‘til you feel it.” Especially on your first day, unless you enrolled in school with someone else, you won’t know anyone else. Use this as a freeing moment, not a nervous one. There isn’t a single person in that room with you that knows anything about you. So who do you want to be? School is a time to discover yourself and the beautiful and wonderful confidence that comes from the freedom to openly define who you are. If you’ve always been the shy type, no one would know. If you tripped walking across your school stage during the school musical, no one would know. You are a beautiful mystery to your classmates. Use this to be the person you’ve always wanted to be.
In the vein of faking it, the first service you perform on a stranger during your time on the salon floor is always the toughest. While you’re staring down that first haircut just remember: This person doesn’t know a single thing about you! You will instill confidence in them by outwardly projecting a sense of calm; even if you’re quaking on the inside. The fulfilling sense of accomplishment that comes after that service is done will be enough to propel you into the next, and the next, and every service after.
This mantra is one that I live by daily. It goes for more than just nerves; you can use it to definitively make a decision on how you want to feel each day. Regardless of how my day started, spilling coffee on the original shirt I planned to wear or frustratingly misplacing my keys for the hundredth time, I don’t want to give in to the negativity. This is the same thing you will want do as a cosmetologist for your clients. Your day may start all out of sorts, but the smile you put on your face to greet your first client won’t betray how you’re feeling on the inside; whether it be nervous, tired, or exasperated. Before you know it, you’ll be feeling just as bright and cheery on the inside as you look on the outside. Faking it until you feel it is not just for your clients and classmates, it’s for you. You know you always have the support of your faculty and staff for the extra crummy mornings, but you will soon find yourself developing the confidence to take on any day the universe throws your way.