Self Belief Vs. Self Delusion
Wednesday, June 21 2006What is the difference between self-belief and self-delusion? Do you ever wonder if you're deluding yourself when it comes to your big plans?
If so, you're not alone. This is a question I'm guaranteed to be asked in any workshop, and it goes right to the heart of coaching. And the bad news is this – there really is such a thing as self-delusion. You need to be able to spot it in yourself and others if you're keen to coach them.
In my recent book, The 7 Rules of Success, I give an example of self-delusion at work. Here it is:
In the TV makeover programme Kitchen Nightmares, Michelin starred chef Gordon Ramsay visited a failing restaurant to discover why it was doing so badly.
The culprit was in the kitchen - an arrogant young chef who was offering complex haute cuisine menus, when he hadn't mastered the knack of cooking a decent omelette.
He boasted about his ambitions to run restaurants of his own, blaming the lack of sophisticated people in the neighbourhood for his lack of customers. His bravado was hilarious but was rapidly dragging the business towards bankruptcy (which was eventually what happened.) The fact that his kitchen was also filthy sabotaged any sympathy we might have had for him.
What should this young chap have done? He should have ensured his self-belief was justified. His skills should have been honed to perfection, either gleaned from masters like Ramsay, working as their apprentice, or he should have put himself through the best possible formal training: especially as he hadn't grown up in a gastronomic home.
Cooking may well have been his passion but he was not respecting that love by ensuring he was as brilliant at it as he boasted to be. Now, this is the sort of chap who gives self-belief a bad name!
I'm going to examine this in detail in my Coach's Masterclass workshop on July 1st and ensure that you are free of delusion and brimming with genuine, justifiable self-belief! I'll also teach you how to do the same with others.
If you're coming to the workshop, do ensure you've emailed me beforehand to say what you'd like to get out of the day - fiona@fionaharrold.com.
