How Reese Witherspoon stays fearless in the face of challenges

It’s hard to imagine an award-winning actress like Reese Witherspoon—especially someone who nearly always plays such a cheery character—dealing with insecurities. But, like you and me, she admits to having to face her fears on the reg.

“I see [fear] as this little creature that lives in my life all the time,” Witherspoon recently said in an interview with Marie Claire. “I can either pay it attention and not get anything done or I can march ahead and ignore it.”

It’s certainly all-too-easy to let hesitation consume you and prevent you from being productive—you know, like when you get caught up thinking about your endless to-do list and wind up procrastinating it all. (Just me?) But rather going down an anxiety rabbit hole, Witherspoon immerses herself in what she’s trying to accomplish.

“Sometimes I just have to jump two feet into a cold pool and go, OK, I believe in myself enough.”

“Sometimes that’s not a good thing, and sometimes it is,” she says. “But sometimes I just have to jump two feet into a cold pool and go, OK, I believe in myself enough. I know I work hard. I know I can always bet on myself.” Her secret? Trust in your badass self. Now that’s a big little tip I can get behind.

These are two easy ways to boost your in-office confidence, and 9 career confidence rules that super-successful people follow in case you’re craving more #bossbabe inspo.