# Some Thoughts on Confide...  ## Metadata - Author: [[@lucyjspence on Twitter]] - Full Title: Some Thoughts on Confide... - Category: #tweets - URL: https://twitter.com/lucyjspence/status/1501478725988278275 ## Highlights - Some thoughts on confidence as a PM. A 🧵 1. Losing confidence is part of being a PM and stretching yourself. It happens to most people quite frequently. It can help you, or hurt you. Learning to use it to your advantage can be a superpower. ([View Tweet](https://twitter.com/lucyjspence/status/1501478725988278275)) - 2. Losing confidence is often inherently connected to doing something new. New ventures start with excitement and possibility. As constraints are exposed, initial ideas are rejected, the space becomes more thoroughly understood, it's natural to lose confidence at this point. ([View Tweet](https://twitter.com/lucyjspence/status/1501478727997349890)) - 3. If you recognising this, recognising it's just part of the process and actually indicates progress. Now, that's exciting isn't it? Simple trick - smile and say to yourself "I'm making progress, and that's super cool" or "I've been here before and know this is normal" ([View Tweet](https://twitter.com/lucyjspence/status/1501478730421702656)) - 4. Losing confidence can also be because as a result of unexpected, limited or negative feedback. Handle each of these slightly differently. Remember feedback is a gift - but not all gifts need to be kept... ([View Tweet](https://twitter.com/lucyjspence/status/1501478732195840001)) - 5. Unexpected feedback? Take your time to analysis it. Is it useful? Is it credible? Is it actionable? Could you have gotten it earlier? Can you expect more of it? The important part is losing confidence is a strong signal there is opportunity here - listen to it and use it ([View Tweet](https://twitter.com/lucyjspence/status/1501478734389563393)) - 6. Limited feedback? Feeling adrift, not sure how you're performing, or whether you're on the right path? Great signal to start conversations that will give you better perspectives. We all need feedback to grow, and it's on each of us to learn to ask for it and gather it well ([View Tweet](https://twitter.com/lucyjspence/status/1501478736415318019)) - 7. Negative feedback? Pause. Breath. Introspect. Examine what you _think_ the feedback is saying about you, and what you think about you. What is the delta? What else support this? Is that a fair interpretation? ([View Tweet](https://twitter.com/lucyjspence/status/1501478738399313923)) - 8. "That idea sucks" is easy to hear, but NOT the same as "Your ideas suck, and you suck at ideas". Learning to pick apart what you're hearing in negative feedback from the feedback itself, and understanding why you interpret things that way is a self awareness game changer. ([View Tweet](https://twitter.com/lucyjspence/status/1501478741159161858)) - 9. Losing confidence can also happen through comparison. PM thought leadership (books, podcasts, talks, etc) are there to help you find your way. It is not a school report or a reprimand. If it's more disheartened than inspiring, take a break and just practice one thing from it ([View Tweet](https://twitter.com/lucyjspence/status/1501478742878822404)) - 10. In summary, try to reframe a drop in confidence as a signal to a course of action, rather than a state or reflection of who you are. Channel your focus onto something else, and you might just find your confidence creating back in along the way. ([View Tweet](https://twitter.com/lucyjspence/status/1501478744422289413)) - 11. Final note, loss of confidence is different from persistent low confidence. Some techniques may help in both situations, but persistent low confidence isn't a signal in the same sort of way that a loss of confidence is. (My first twitter 🧵, let me know if you liked it) ([View Tweet](https://twitter.com/lucyjspence/status/1501478746490130432))