3 Tips To Champion Self-Belief As A Freelancer

Self-belief is the most important aspect of being a freelancer.

There, I said it.

Let me explain;

With freelancing, most of the time it’s only you that makes things happen. You are an individual, and you need every bit of self-belief to make sure you don’t give up.

Especially if you work from home, and not in a shared office, it can be a very lonely experience (now you thought I was going to go light with this blog post?!).

With you, and only you, to make sure you reach your goals.

With a number of hours you can potentially be alone, working away, you only have yourself and your mind to keep you company.

This is where it can become dangerous for any freelancer. (And I put emphasis on the world ‘can’ – as it CAN be dangerous, as there are techniques I’ll share later to help your self-belief).

If work doesn’t come in, you can certainly start to have self doubt about yourself and freelancing. Self-doubt makes you quit at the first hurdle.

Self-belief makes you aim for your goals and doesn’t take no for an answer. It kicks self-doubt in the nuts. Self-belief helps to reach your goals that you desperately want.

Self-belief is the biggest player in the game.

Of course, even the most confident freelancer is bound to have self-doubt from time to time, but it’s stamped out before it takes over.

I’m not saying this from a self-belief king either, sitting on my self-belief throne. I still have self-doubt about my work, about freelancing and my career, but I use strategies to overcome this and continue to pursue my goals. I’ve kept it at a minimum, which is perfectly fine with me.

So What Exactly Is Self-Belief?

Belief, according to Oxford dictionary, is;

“(Belief in) Trust, faith, or confidence in (someone or something)
‘a belief in democratic politics’”

This perfectly sums belief up. Without one of these, life as a freelancer is miserable – that’s how highly I rate it!

But let’s go over each word in turn;

Trust – you need trust in yourself that you have the skills, the expertise, and the knowledge to make freelancing and your goals a success.

Faith – much like trust, you need faith to go out into the unknown, to take risks, because you have the faith that it will help your career.

Confidence – probably the most important in the definition. You need confidence to prove your critics wrong, to keep yourself on your freelancing journey, and have the confidence in yourself to make it happen.

If you manage to keep self-doubt at bay, nothing will stop you in your pursuit to freelancing greatness.

So lets discover how you can instill self-belief in your own freelancing mentality.

Self-Belief Tips To Success – It’s Celebration Time!

You need to start thinking in celebration mode if you want to obliterate self-doubt.

Creating a routine to celebrate your small wins will help you realise that you are on the right track, and you are doing the right things.

Celebrate your small wins everyday, and you will notice the positive things in your life. It’s one thing I’ve learnt being a freelance illustrator.

Some examples of small wins;

– A client praised your work
– You completed that really DIFFICULT task
– You got out of your comfort zone and tried something new

Be sure to give yourself recognition for your smallest of wins, and you will see positive results in your mentality.

Set Far Reaching But Realistic Goals

Having something to aim for in your freelancing career (and also in life in general), will help your own self-belief.

Making those daily steps towards your goal will help you focus on the positive side of freelancing, and when you do reach your goals – HURRAY! (Celebration time is needed!)

This is like a domino effect, as you focus on your goals and reach them, more positive actions start to happen.

For example, if your goal is to achieve 5 commissions within 1 month and succeed, then it’s going to help grow your portfolio. In turn, it will help encourage others to do business with you, as you have a great portfolio. Which in turn, will help your bank balance, as you had a large portfolio, and clients paid you for work – you can see where I’m going with this!

Make goals, work hard to achieve them, and celebrate afterwards!

Keep The Negativity At Bay

Who needs negativity?

No one!

One way I’ve been able to keep negativity at bay is by not listening to it.

You don’t have to listen to every thought that comes into your head – as most of them aren’t true anyway.

Once you have this sort of mentality, then you can start to listen to only the good thoughts that pop into your head, and not the negative (as they probably aren’t true!). You can still listen to some negative thoughts if you think it’s important, but generally, give it a miss!

Get Self-Belief By Your Side

With self-belief by your side, you will never think about quitting. Of course, you’re still going to encounter rejection, but with a reassured self-belief and confidence, you can do things in this world!

It wouldn’t even come into your mentality.

If it helps, be the Cristiano Ronaldo of the world – his guy has self-belief in spades (but probably too much…).

I hope this post has helped you discover why self-belief is so important for you as a freelancer, and even if you’re not a freelancer, it’s just as important in your life.

Create realistic goals, celebrate your small wins and keep the negativity at bay and you’ll be onto a winner!

Be sure to visit my illustration portfolio to see more of my commissioned and personal work. Or if your desire is to be a freelance illustrator, check out these three epic tips!

Many thanks for listening and visiting my news page today. You can follow what I’m up to on my Twitter, Facebook or Instagram pages, I’ll really appreciate it if you do, and don’t be afraid to say hi to me! Many thanks again, and have a great day!