No One Can Make You Believe You’re an Expert

Have you ever had someone comment on your expertise or say you are an expert at something?How did you feel? Were you surprised maybe? Did you thank them or did you tell them you have a long way to go?

Why don’t we just say ‘Thank you’?

Your answer to that last question says a lot about your personal view of your own expertise. When we have something that other people like and we get a compliment, for instance, “I like your new car”, we then thank the person. If we have something we think has a lesser or no value and someone compliments on it, we may not feel worthy to accept the compliment. Have you ever had a new used car that was the only thing you could afford to buy? When someone said, “I like your new car” you may have been embarrassed that it was not the class level you want to be at and would answer something like, “Oh, it will do for now”.

What does our mindset have to do with it?

This mindset is the same for our own worth. If we do not believe that we are an expert then no matter what someone says to us we cannot concede the truth without a change in our own perception. Unfortunately, in human behaviour, it is what we believe in ourselves that comes across to others. Therefore if you want others to know you are an expert you have to first believe you are an expert.

In the book Outliers by Malcolm Gladwell, a person only becomes an expert after they have put in over 10,000 hours of work. It is not that ‘practice makes perfect’, it is that ‘practice develops experience’ and with experience comes wisdom and intuition that cannot be had without it.  Just because you have 10,000 times put into something does not necessarily make you feel like an expert. There is a mindset shift that must occur. This mindset must overcome our fear of being seen as arrogant or pompous. In Seth Godin’s recent blog post he goes further to say that if we do not believe in ourselves the market won’t do it for us.

I have some amazing friends and very talented family members that are very good at what they do. Recently I realized that they spend time worrying about their expert level, their value, their worth. No matter how many times we have discussed their skills and value – the statements coming from me do not resonate as clearly as if they had come from themselves.

How do we get that mindset?

The concert pianist that steps on stage is not thinking, “geez I hope they like me”, the motivational speaker does not worry that she will be able to actually motivate people, the world renown advertising company CEO does not worry if people will find value from their campaigns – they just do it. But they do it with the knowledge that they are very good at what they do. So how does a person get to that stage of mindset?

Practice

Put in your 10,000 and build your expertise. If you are not there yet, act as if you are so that you will become that person. I’m not saying you should lie about what you can or cannot do, I’m saying, live like you are the best at the pieces you are very good at.

Acceptance

Accept that you are good at some things and always be thankful for them. Practice having a thankful heart and mind. When someone compliments you your mission is to just say, ‘thank you’. Hold those hesitations and lesser thoughts to yourself for another conversation. Allow that person to get the full effect of the gift they gave you by simply accepting it for what it is, a compliment.

Accomplishment

Keep an accomplishment list or daily accomplishment journal. When you recognize your own accomplishments it becomes easier to see what others see in you. For a description of these two exercises see my blog on Accomplishments.

Persistence

You may have people that will always recognize your expertise, maybe before you do, but not everyone is going to believe you. Constantly eventuate your skills and knowledge. Openly concede your mistakes and learn from them to become better at everything you do. Every successful person is just that – a person. You are as worthy to be successful at what you do as they are. Continue to believe in yourself and the numbers of others that believe you will continue to grow.