Second Guessing

I have a coworker who constantly second guesses herself. Usually she’s spot on the first time.

For about six months now we’ve been training one of our kennel staff at the veterinary clinic I work at to be a receptionist. Just for comparison, I had about a week and a half before I was entrusted with keys and security code to the building without any prior experience working front desk. Now, as someone who has trained hundreds of people for The Most Evil Corporation in the World, I know everyone has their own pace. But, I also know when it is time to cut the cord and let them do it on their own to build confidence, and that was a long time ago. Unfortunately I’m not in charge, or she would have been left to her own devices months ago. However, her main downfall is that she knows how to do the job, but gets so worked up and nervous about getting everything done right, she ends up, well, screwing everything up. I told her to trust her instincts… and prayed her instincts weren’t also as flustered!

Why is it some of us are so prone to second guess our decisions even though we are usually right the first time? Does it stem from constantly trying to please our parents as children or getting the right answer in front of the class for the teacher? Possibly, but it also could be that some of us are simply programmed to overanalyze every situation we come in contact with. As for me, I used to care whether or not my parents were proud of me or if I knew everything (which, by the way, I do know a lot about a great many things, but by no means everything, Family, so please don’t be shocked when you text me some random question and I’m absolutely flabbergasted without a response which I’m sure will eventually happen… a second time), but am comfortable with myself now that I don’t have to be perfect because it is a rather unattainable goal. It is a noble goal, but will only lead you to think yourself a failure if you can’t measure up, which is far more destructive than acknowledging the mistake, learning from it and moving on.