Be kind to yourself

You probably tend to be kinder to others than you are to yourself about your design work, and are quick to point out your own flaws and mistakes. By practicing being kinder to yourself, you’ll be motivated to make positive changes which will lead towards more confidence in your work.

3 Steps for practicing positive self-talk:

1. Note the negativity: Focus on a mistake you’ve made (you can do this in retrospect) and sit with the feelings that come up for a while instead of rejecting them.
2. Substitute shoulds: Instead of ‘I should have’, replace should with words like ‘could’ or ‘wonder’ (throwback to ‘Don’t should yourself’).
3. Determine your desires: Stating what you wish for will encourage growth and crowd out negative thoughts.

Do it over and over

In a design advice column, ‘Timid in Tarrytown’ asks Debbie Millman if presenting work is really necessary, when the work should speak for itself. Debbie points out that aside from mastering your design skills, presenting is the second most important skill you should master. Her solution for when you get nervous? Do it over and over.

“The only way to alleviate being scared or nervous is to do the thing you are scared and nervous about over and over until you get better at it. Very few people ever do something the first time and do it perfectly.”

– Debbie Millman