I had the honor of speaking at a Women in Trucking event at Gordon Food Service, where I discussed the importance of confidence. My focus was on how just five minutes of daily practice can build comfortable habits, leading to a moment when you realize you’re not just practicing—you’re confidently executing the skill. But it all starts with belief. You have to believe that you can excel at anything with consistency and the support of a good coach, mentor, or teammate.

Here’s a brief summary of the topics I covered

A bit about me: If you’re into personality tests, I’m a Type 3 Achiever and an ENFP, which basically means I’m bubbly, competitive with myself, and will always be your biggest cheerleader.

Leslie Knope is who I aspire to be! A colleague once called me that, and I’ll never let it go.

Over the years, many people helped me believe in myself, and I’d like to share some exercises that helped me see that I can make a difference and that I belong here.

A little about my background: I grew up on the WestSide of Grand Rapids. I love making people feel welcome and enjoy making new connections and friends (sometimes at my own expense). After high school, I wanted to get away from Grand Rapids, so I headed for sunny Florida for college.

I tried out for the waterski team and made it, even though I was the least experienced. But hey, what do you call a person who graduates last in medical school? A doctor! That experience taught me that I was capable of more than I realized. And if I worked hard, just maybe I could do great things.

I graduated in 2009, during a challenging time in the job market, and faced multiple rejections when applying for jobs I wanted. Eventually, I worked on a campaign for Gow Fields, an insurance agent and the first Black man running for mayor. And he won! That was a special time for me, even though the campaign committee initially doubted my abilities and “accidentally” included me on an email expressing those doubts.

After the election, I took a job in staffing, where I found joy in connecting with people and helping them find jobs that suited them well. Later, I became the marketing coordinator for Two Men and a Truck, which I loved.

Then, we took a risk and moved back to Grand Rapids. I had just had a son, and we wanted to be close to my family. I brought everything I learned in the workforce to Swift Printing, where I’ve worked for the past decade.

Like everyone, I’ve faced adversity, and no two situations are the same. We can’t really compare each other’s experiences, as much as we might want to. It’s easy to think, “Well, Jonelle’s had it way worse than me,” and feel like our own pain isn’t valid. Or think, how can they think they have it bad, look what I’ve been through. But in reality, all our feelings are valid and we all have hardships. The key is training ourselves to build confidence and keep improving every day without focusing one someone else’s journey.

1. Self-Awareness

Identify your strengths and weaknesses. Do you really know what you’re good at? Everyone has talents. Let’s take a minute to write down 10 things you’re good at. If you can’t think of anything, that’s okay—sometimes it starts with realizing you can’t say 10 things you’re great at.

I once did an exercise where a mentor had me write down everything I was good at, and I couldn’t think of anything at first. But when you shift your thinking to focus on your best, not someone else’s best, it makes a difference.

Set realistic goals. Define what you want to achieve and break it down into manageable steps. This can be challenging, especially for women juggling the mental load, children, work, and everything in between. It helps to rethink how you approach goals. Instead of saying, “If I had more time, I’d exercise,” try saying, “I’m not making time for myself because of XYZ.” Eventually, you’ll realize, “Wait, this doesn’t make sense, I need to switch somethings around.”

There’s a great book called The Power of One that emphasizes doing one thing today that brings you closer to your goal. It could be asking your superior to lunch and discussing where you’d like to be in five years. If you can’t picture where you’ll be in five years, that’s your starting point.

2. Positive Mindset

Use positive affirmations to reinforce your self-belief. I know it sounds cheesy, but stick with me. Have you heard Snoop Dogg’s affirmation song? I highly recommend it. (it’s a kid-friendly song!)

Let’s take a moment to write some nice things about ourselves—physical or mental attributes. Use the present tense. For years, I read this every morning:

“My name is Jessica Gutowski-Slaydon. I have a great body, I have healthy hair, I am great at writing, I make time for myself, I am not a regular mom, I’m a cool mom. I love my husband, and I work hard and do my best at everything I do.”

Avoid negative self-talk. Challenge and reframe negative thoughts about yourself. There’s a book called The Silva Mind Control Method that offers a great message: Our minds are like computers, and whatever we program into them, we believe.

In the book, it suggests saying “cancel, cancel” whenever you have a negative thought and replacing it with a positive one. My kids make fun of me for my random “cancel, cancels,” but it works for me!

3. Skill Development

Invest time in learning and improving your skills. I’m always listening to a book or podcast to stay engaged and on the journey, even when I’m not at my best.

Practice regularly. It builds competence and, in turn, confidence. My parents growing up always said, “milage!” The funny thing is I heard them, but didn’t really get it until I was older.

My advice to get better at your career is to take up a hobby or volunteer. The best work advice I’ve ever received came while doing something else—from coaching my kids’ soccer teams to leading a fun run group to singing in my band.

Singing is a big passion of mine, and for years I didn’t do it because I’m not Beyoncé. But one day, I heard someone sing and thought, “I’m way better than that person.” It was a self-awareness moment—if they love to sing and are doing it, what’s my excuse? I was just jealous. So, I made a plan to get better and started doing it for just 5-10 minutes a day. That’s it! That’s the secret to life. A little bit every day. Even when we don’t want to. It’s only 5 minutes. You’ve got this!

Remember, 5-10 minutes a day beats once a week for an hour every time. I have yet to find something that doesn’t fit that rule. That’s a challenge, if you come across something where this rule doesn’t apply, please send my way!

Good luck on your journey! I believe in you—start practicing so you can believe in yourself too.

A huge thanks to Rachael Partridge for inviting me to speak at the Gordon Food Service Women in Trucking event. It was an honor! If you’ve got a group you’d like for me to come speak for please contact me at jes@swiftprinting.com or give me a call at 616-915-5370.