The fastest way to boost your confidence: Act before you overthink

It was 7 am on a Tuesday.

I texted Carlina, my Chief of Staff: “You should come on this podcast with me. We record at noon.”

Some context: This podcast was all about the Enneagram. I knew nothing about the Enneagram, but Carlina is obsessed with it. And she’s a super fan of this podcast.

For a week leading up to my interview, she’d been coaching me: “Listen to this episode.” “Here’s your report.” “You’re a 3 with a 2-wing.” She was overqualified for the content.

But Carlina had never been on a podcast. She generally works behind the scenes.

Oh, and this wasn’t just any podcast. It was one of the biggest I’ve ever done — over 3,000 Apple Podcast reviews and a massive audience.

Carlina’s first podcast ever.

She texted me back: “Let’s do it. I’m going to be reckless.” With a bunch of nervous-face emojis.

Five hours later, she crushed it.

The Problem

You give yourself too much time to think about scary things.

You schedule the difficult conversation for two weeks out so you can “prepare.” You tell yourself you’ll apply for the job after you spend the weekend perfecting your resume. You plan to speak up in the meeting after you’ve thought through every possible response.

But here’s what actually happens:

The extra time doesn’t help you prepare. It helps you spiral and second-guess yourself.

By the time the moment comes, you either back out completely or show up paralyzed with anxiety.

The Big Small Thing

Give yourself less than 24 hours to do something scary. It forces you to act before you can overthink.

Carlina had 5 hours before we recorded the podcast. No time to talk herself out of it or over-prepare.

Instead, Carlina chose to be RECKLESS and show up.

(Reckless is one of the nine traits I write about in Wild Courage. It means having the courage to err on the side of action. Better to learn from your mistakes than waste time analyzing every decision.)

Here’s what to do:

•  That difficult conversation with your boss? Schedule it for tomorrow morning before you can script every word.

•  Want to speak up in the leadership meeting? Tell someone today you’re going to share your idea in tomorrow’s meeting. Now you have to.

•  Thinking about applying for that stretch role? Hit submit on the application tonight before you spend the weekend rewriting your resume 10 times.

• Have a project you want to pitch? Send the calendar invite for Friday’s presentation on Monday.

Give yourself 4 days, not 4 weeks.

The magic is in the short timeline.

If you’re on the fence, do it. Think fast and fearless.

After we recorded, Carlina told me: “I’m so glad I just did it. Doing it increased my confidence.”

Now every future opportunity feels easier because she’s already done the scariest version.

(Click here to listen to Carlina crush it — and hear about my strained relationship with my sister, and how my unhealthy need to constantly compare myself to peer authors is robbing me of joy.)

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 How This Helps You Get What You Want

When you give yourself less than 24 hours to do scary things, you:

• Build confidence faster than people who prepare endlessly
• Learn by doing instead of overthinking
• Create momentum that makes the next scary thing easier

This week, pick something scary and give yourself less than 24 hours to do it.