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216 - Embracing Possibility Rather Than Settling For What's Probable
Cindy Esliger challenges the habit of making career decisions based only on what seems realistic, explaining how probability thinking keeps many professionals stuck below their potential. By relying on past patterns in our organizations, we treat incomplete data as the full picture and limit what we go after. She draws a clear distinction between probability as pattern recognition and possibility as pattern creation, pointing out that while many are comfortable solving complex problems at work, we hesitate to apply that same thinking to our own careers.
She outlines four beliefs that reinforce this pattern: 1. Needing to see how it’s done before we do it, 2. Waiting until we feel completely qualified, 3. Believing that if it hasn’t happened for other women, it won’t happen for us, and 4. We need to know how before we commit to what. These beliefs lead to playing small, accepting low-visibility work, and missing opportunities. Cindy also highlights four common professional landmines that keep this cycle going: 1. The qualification trap, 2. Comparison quicksand, 3. The false binary choice, and 4. The permission pattern. These all encourage hesitation instead of action.
To shift into possibility thinking, Cindy shares six practical strategies: 1. Start with the finish line instead of the starting point, 2. Make decisions from your future self, not current circumstances, 3. Integrate all data, not just external things, 4. Focus on frequency, not just magnitude, 5. Build our inner circle, and 6. Reframe failure as a necessary part of the process. She encourages approaching career growth like solving a technical problem by testing, learning, and iterating. Cindy ends with a challenge to commit to one goal that feels improbable and take a single step toward it, reinforcing that discomfort is often a sign of growth, not a reason to hold back.
Resources discussed in this episode:
—
Contact Cindy Esliger
Career Confidence Coaching: website | instagram | facebook | linkedin | email
Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.
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By Cindy EsligerCindy Esliger challenges the habit of making career decisions based only on what seems realistic, explaining how probability thinking keeps many professionals stuck below their potential. By relying on past patterns in our organizations, we treat incomplete data as the full picture and limit what we go after. She draws a clear distinction between probability as pattern recognition and possibility as pattern creation, pointing out that while many are comfortable solving complex problems at work, we hesitate to apply that same thinking to our own careers.
She outlines four beliefs that reinforce this pattern: 1. Needing to see how it’s done before we do it, 2. Waiting until we feel completely qualified, 3. Believing that if it hasn’t happened for other women, it won’t happen for us, and 4. We need to know how before we commit to what. These beliefs lead to playing small, accepting low-visibility work, and missing opportunities. Cindy also highlights four common professional landmines that keep this cycle going: 1. The qualification trap, 2. Comparison quicksand, 3. The false binary choice, and 4. The permission pattern. These all encourage hesitation instead of action.
To shift into possibility thinking, Cindy shares six practical strategies: 1. Start with the finish line instead of the starting point, 2. Make decisions from your future self, not current circumstances, 3. Integrate all data, not just external things, 4. Focus on frequency, not just magnitude, 5. Build our inner circle, and 6. Reframe failure as a necessary part of the process. She encourages approaching career growth like solving a technical problem by testing, learning, and iterating. Cindy ends with a challenge to commit to one goal that feels improbable and take a single step toward it, reinforcing that discomfort is often a sign of growth, not a reason to hold back.
Resources discussed in this episode:
—
Contact Cindy Esliger
Career Confidence Coaching: website | instagram | facebook | linkedin | email
Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.