Anishinabek Employment and Training Services promotes self-confidence through Confident Me presentation

By Rick Garrick

THUNDER BAY — Cheyenne Nobis, Life Skills Officer with Anishinabek Employment and Training Services (AETS), spoke about building confidence both personally and professionally during his Confident Me presentation on June 18 at AETS’s Park Avenue office in Thunder Bay, Ontario.

“A little bit of today was just on building confidence, personally and professionally, just trying to give people new skills such as self-awareness, confidence, and positive self-talk, setting achievable goals,” says Nobis. “We did a little bit of practicing on self-talk, sharing personal stories because I notice that’s very beneficial for people, being able to share that lived work experience with them.”

Nobis also highlighted the importance of the Seven Grandfather Teachings, the Medicine Wheel, and living in Mino-bimaadiziwin (the good life).

“The Seven Grandfather Teachings can be powerful, building confidence by posturing self-awareness, resilience, and a strong sense of identity,” Nobis says, adding that he included the Medicine Wheel in his presentation to stress its importance for First Nation people. “Everything comes around in a circle, and when you are, you’re living in Mino-bimaadiziwin and everything is balanced.”

Nobis adds that Elders have told him that First Nation people do not always look at others in the eye.

“Just because we’re not looking at them in the eye, it doesn’t mean we’re being disrespectful — we still look around as we’re talking,” Nobis says. “And the same thing when it comes to shaking hands, they recommend work-wise that you have a firm handshake, but there’s another teaching that we didn’t always do that. Sometimes it was just even like a touch of hands, not even a grasp, and you’re still showing that respect.”

Nobis says building confidence is like training a muscle.

“It takes time, consistency, and the right mindset,” he says. “Here are some ways to help improve your confidence: practice self-compassion; treat yourself with kindness instead of harsh criticism, just like you would a close friend; improve upon skills, so if there is an area where you feel uncertain, work on it — knowledge and preparation build confidence naturally.”

Nobis says he has always worked on the improvement of his own skills.

“If I wasn’t good at something, then I took that time and I was open to how to do that job better,” Nobis says. “I was going to [my] employer, supervisor, manager,[asking] how can I do my job better and then just being open to feedback.”

Nobis says it is also important for people to focus on their strengths.

“Acknowledge your skills and achievements,” Nobis says.

Nobis says creating healthy boundaries is also important.

“Feeling in control of your environment enhances psychological safety and self-assurance,” Nobis says, noting that creating boundaries is something that came with time for him. “Since I’ve learned how to create boundaries, my life is way better. That takes time, that takes practice and especially speaking to the work world, you’re definitely going to benefit from being able to set boundaries. An example of that is imagine you made a mistake at work, and you feel frustrated with yourself. Instead of harsh self-criticism, you can practice by saying, ‘Everyone makes mistakes, this doesn’t define me, I’ll learn from it and move forward.’ This shift in mindset can help reduce stress and encourage personal growth.”

Nobis says one of the issues he used to have was with saying no to overtime or extra shifts.

“I used to be the yes man,” Nobis says. “I just found that it was always me doing everything, and then you start to get burned out, you start to get tired and you feel like you can’t say no.”

Nobis says he previously did a presentation on professionalism and is currently looking at doing a presentation on budgeting because of the annuity payouts being made to citizens from the communities AETS serves.

“We [can give] you some education, things to think about,” Nobis says. “Ultimately, it is up to them what they want to do with their money.”

AETS highlights upcoming presentations and workshops on their Facebook page.