Michelin's Caplette: Embracing positivity essential for success

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz.—Every day, we are given a choice.

We can choose to do and be our best selves—to trust who we are and what we can achieve—and in doing so, reach our biggest goals.

Sometimes, though, standing in the way of those big achievements are bigger obstacles: Self-doubts. Mistakes we can’t seem to let go of. Harsh or hurtful criticism from family, colleagues or acquaintances.

And this is where that choice comes in, Genevieve Caplette, Michelin North America Inc.’s leadership and team development manager, said during her keynote presentation at the Women Breaking the Mold Networking Forum. We must choose whether or not to face those obstacles and break through them, or let them stifle our sincere selves and our capabilities.

“The opportunity,” she said, “is to find those barriers and break them down.”

Here are three ways to do just that.

It is so easy, Caplette said, to focus on the negatives. It’s easy to hold on to those hurtful things that were said to us or about us, or to dwell on the mistakes we made along the way.

But doing that holds us back.

“We do it all the time,” Caplette said. “We’re bright, we’re intelligent. How come we always look to the things we did wrong instead of the things we did right?”

To break this cycle, Caplette said, we must learn to listen to the voices that matter. And the most important voice is our own. The one that helped us to define who we want to be and what we want to achieve.

Because it’s that voice that instinctively tells us we are strong enough, capable enough and smart enough to reach our goals.

“It is time to listen to your own voice—your own soul—because too many people listen to the noise outside of them instead of actually listening to themselves, that voice inside all of us that says: ‘You’ve got this. You can do this.’ ”

Often, our greatest achievements or abilities are stifled by self-doubts, Caplette said. And when that happens, the questions start to creep in: Am I good enough?

Those self-doubts create what Caplette called a “never-ending cycle” of imposter syndrome.

“You try harder, you overachieve. And when that happens you get promoted. You get that next job and when that happens, it actually leads to feeling more like fraud, more like an imposter. It’s a never-ending cycle,” Caplette said. “It’s a horrible feeling, but we put ourselves through that.

“In order to stop thinking like an imposter, we have to stop feeling like an imposter,” she said.

To do that, we must learn to trust ourselves and our abilities. Here is where positive affirmations play a key role, she said.

And it all starts with a simple word.

Strong. Courageous. Trustworthy. Resourceful. Hardworking.

Choose a word or two that helps to define who you are as a person, Caplette said, and choose to focus on that word. Tell yourself again and again that you are strong or hardworking or resourceful.

“And when you are having one of those moments—one of those days—just pull one of those words out and say, ‘you know what? I am strong. I am resilient. I am confident. I’ve got this.’ ”

Throughout our careers—or even our personal lives—there will be moments where we aren’t comfortable. We may be exploring new career paths, stepping into a new job or taking on a challenge or project that feels a bit outside of our comfort zone.

Embrace those moments, Caplette said. Don’t be afraid to take them on, and especially don’t be afraid to fail.

Because it is in those uncomfortable moments that we learn more about ourselves and our abilities. And it is from those mistakes we truly grow.

“Being uncomfortable, discomfort: It is going to pass,” Caplette said. “We’ll get past it; we don’t have to be 100-percent confident to do something right now. As long as you’re stretching, you’re growing.”

Sometimes, those uncomfortable moments are more significant. They’re heartbreaking, and they may feel as though they break us.

When that happens, those moments become defining moments. And those are important moments.

“Defining moments actually highlight our resilience. And resilience is what keeps us going when motivation fails,” Caplette said. “(When you think) I didn’t, I wouldn’t, I couldn’t, I shouldn't, I can’t. Guess what? I’m going to show you that you already have done it.

“You already have moments of resilience, you just have to take that opportunity to look at what that story is, what that opportunity was and see there was resilience in the moment.”