21. The Confidence Boost You Need: Celebrating Small Wins for Big Impact

In this episode of The Nurses' Breakroom with Jenny Lytle, RN, we're diving into confidence—what lights us up and makes us feel empowered. Learn how to create a "wins file," a powerful tool to combat self-doubt, overcome imposter syndrome, and remind yourself of your unique accomplishments. Whether you’re facing a new challenge or simply looking for a confidence boost, these insights will help you tap into what makes you truly amazing.

If you're feeling overwhelmed, burned out, or like there’s never enough time, I’ve got something just for you! Head to https://selfcareisntselfish.com to grab your FREE copy of my book, Self-Care Isn’t Selfish: The Compassionate Nurse’s Step-by-Step Guide to Personalized Stress Relief. It’s packed with simple, effective strategies to help you prioritize your needs—without guilt—so you can feel energized, focused, and ready to take on the day. Go to https://selfcareisntselfish.com 

Looking for connection with people who get the stress and self-care struggles of nurses and caregivers? Check out https://thenursesbreakroom.com

Connect on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jennylytlern/

More ways to connect here: https://linktr.ee/jennylytle

Transcript

Speaker 1: 0:29

Hello and welcome back to another episode of the Nurse's Break Room with Jenny Lytle RN. Today we are going to focus on confidence what makes you feel amazing. So last week we talked about the things that light you up, and my approach to self-care and to stress relief in general is that it needs to be personalized because it's not one size fits all. This week we are looking at the things that make you feel great, and it's very easy to focus on our shortcomings, to focus on the things that we don't do well, but there are things that you do well and that make you feel wonderful. And so, knowing those type of things that make us feel confident, that make us feel good, those things that really can make a difference when it comes to stepping outside of our comfort zone and doing something new or putting ourselves out there a little bit maybe asking for a raise, asking for a promotion, looking for a new job, or something as simple as just feeling able to speak up for yourself and say no something as simple as just feeling able to speak up for yourself and say no those are all things that really are really important skills to have, but sometimes we lack the confidence to do much about that. One of the things that I recommend that my clients do is start a win file. We automatically keep track of those things that somebody says that feels like a put-down or some criticism that we get, or, of course, we have those constant negative voices going in our head and it's easy to focus on those things when we didn't show up the way we wanted to in a particular situation.

Speaker 1: 2:11

The wins file helps us to be able to see clearly and reference easily the things that have gone, the accomplishments that we do have, and these don't have to be from other people either. You can jot things down. If you know that you did something great and it may not be anything that anybody else would recognize and it doesn't have to be a big thing to be a big deal so maybe it's a fear or an insecurity that you overcame Then that's absolutely something that could go right into the wins file and it doesn't have to be shared with anybody else if you choose for it not to be. It's just a great way to see some of the amazingness that is you, a great way to see some of the amazingness that is you. And so looking at maybe emails or cards, certificates, things like that letters, any kind of awards or your letters of recommendation that you've gotten from people. There's really no limit to what types of things can be included in here, but it's just overall focusing on those things that really perk us up and it sounds simplistic, but it's something that has helped me and some of my clients so much when we're getting ready to do something that's a bit scary or when we're just having those down days.

Speaker 1: 3:28

And when I was in the middle of writing my book, I really started getting a lot of imposter syndrome and worrying about is this good enough? Is this going to make a difference? Is this just stupid that I'm writing this honestly? And when I looked back, some of the things that I keep in my wins file, which are some of my client testimonials and things like that, and I thought you know what I really have made a difference in some people's lives, and it's not about being everything to everybody. It's about realizing that we can make a difference and those things give us the continued confidence to keep stepping out in faith and taking those little chances.

Speaker 1: 4:17

That's why I encourage you to start your own wins file and you can do it digitally or on paper.

Speaker 1: 4:23

I have two versions going, where I have some cards and things like that handwritten things that are in together, and then I also have a Google Doc and folder that has electronic type things in it, and I like that too, because I'm able to access that on the go easily and whenever I need a little boost, and so I encourage you to do the same, and I would love it if you would just click the little button above the podcast or below the podcast, depending on which one you're listening to, and there's a button where you can text me, and I would love to hear about what you, what you have in your wins file or if you started a wins file.

Speaker 1: 5:04

Next week, we are going to be focused on the topic of only you and how you can maximize your impact with your unique set of gifts, strengths, desires, etc. Can maximize your impact with your unique set of gifts, strengths, desires, etc. And I look forward to talking with you then. Until next time, remember, not only is self-care not selfish, it's essential if we want to continue to care for others and live our best lives.