Tag: self confidence

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E#219 Becoming a Confident Coach

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This episode is about becoming a confident coach

Despite extensive training, a lot of professionals talk about having impostor syndrome and fear of not being good enough. But what do you do about that? How do you flip that on its’ head and tackle impostor syndrome so that you can become a confident coach?  

Why you need to be enough 


Impostor syndrome is rife in many professions – I know, because I’ve been through it, and I’ve spoken to a lot of people who struggle with it. 

Today I want to talk to you about WHY you need to be enough and stop impostor syndroming yourself.  

In this episode, I’ll talk about 
* Why you need to be enough
* What a digital legacy strategy is
* Four steps to creating your Digital Legacy Strategy

I think the key reason that you need to feel that you are enough, good enough, worthy, and competent, is that then you can switch your focus off your own shortcomings and onto your clients. 

Let’s face it, if you’re worried about your own performance, then you’re not giving all of your attention to the people you are purporting to help and support.  

I think this is SO critical. This was a realisation I had when I started coaching. I was so busy worrying about what to do, whether my questions were good enough, whether they got something out of the session, whether they were engaged and so on, that it was taking up a LOT of real estate in my head.  

I was feeling anxious and would be nervous going into each session. 

THEN one day I reflected on how my feelings and energy would be seen and felt by the people I was coaching. What would they say? 

By worrying about my performance, I was creating a self-fulfilling prophecy. I was creating tension where there wasn’t really any. 

But most importantly, I realised this behaviour was about me spending too much time thinking about ME and my shortcomings, rather than my client. 

This aha moment flicked the switch for me and allowed me to totally change the way I showed up, coached and the impact of my coaching. It was amazing. 

Here are some benefits and outcomes of dealing with your impostor syndrome. 

Giving your best to clients 

Firstly, when you invest in overcoming your impostor syndrome you become more confident as a person and as a coach. You feel good about what you do and your ability to give value. That means that you invest more time thinking about the people that you’re helping, rather than your own shortcomings. It means that you are flipping the switch from a focus on you into a focus on your clients.  

Imagine how that changes their experience of working with you. Imagine how that changes their relationship with you in a coaching sense. And imagine how that therefore impact their results that they get from the coaching relationship. 

Secondly, if you deal with impostor syndrome and start believing that you can do this, that you are good enough, you be willing to invest enough in your own personal and professional development – because you know that it is worth it for your clients, and that you are worth it. The ripple effect is more advanced skills that will make you a better coach, giving your clients better outcomes. 

I think it’s really important when you’re starting any new career to know that you are not going to get it right all the time – ever. It’s important to manage your own expectations and to know that you will do things wrong and get things messed up along the way. And that’s totally okay. 

What’s more important is your commitment to investing in your own self-belief, personal development and professional development so that you can deal with those mistakes more easily, with grace and candour. 

So how do you get there? How do you beat it and become the best coach you can be, so that you can help people create their desired outcomes and impact the lives of more people? 

How do you beat impostor syndrome? 

Personal Development 

Start by working with your own coach. That way, you will improve your own thoughts habits, well-being and sense of purpose, so that you can be a role model for your clients. Being a strong role model promotes self-confidence. 

A reflective practice is also a must for all graduate coaches. After each coaching session, reflect on what went well, how you used your strengths, the verbal and nonverbal feedback from clients, and any areas for work. Write it down. Then, set specific goals to polish up any areas. One thing I like to do is focus on a particular coaching skill for all clients within a given month, so I can build and hone my craft. 

Ask for feedback and testimonials from your clients. Their feedback is really valuable as it tells you what they liked and didn’t like. Make sure to ask how things have changed for them – not just an assessment of your skills (remember, it’s about them, not you). 

Start hanging around more experienced coaches and having conversations and unpacking challenges so that you can more easily develop the habits and language of a masterful coach. 

Professional Development 

You can also do deep-dive training courses into specialty areas and practice those with your clients to become a better coach. For example, mental health first aid training if you are working with clients who have stress, anxiety and so on. 

There is a caveat on that. A lot of people see education as a tick box thing and they get really interested and they do more and more and more courses but without actually applying the learnings. And I think impostor syndrome comes from this too.  

I know some incredibly smart people who have numerous qualifications, who are full of self-doubt because they haven’t actually used their knowledge and practised with clients and seen the sorts of results that can be gained. 

If you complete a lot of educational courses but you never apply it, then you become potentially a very good teacher but maybe not good at the practice that you have studied.  

I recommend that you invest in practising new skills with clients. Ask permission to try new methods if you know them well, or find practice clients to test new skills and education with.  

Always, always, do market research – keep asking your clients what they need and want – keep learning about other people and their lives and how you can help them – that’s where you can overcome your own self-limiting beliefs, shift the value to what your clients want, and find ways to give it to them. 

Summary

Today we talked about why you need to beat impostor syndrome and start stepping up to be a more masterful coach.  

In short – if you’re focussing on yourself, you can’t focus properly or be present for your clients. 

Flip the switch by investing time, energy and money as needed into personal development and professional development. 

When you do this, you’ll feel more confident, and be able to truly serve your clients in a more authentic, impactful way – because your work will truly be about them. 

Ready to get clarity on your pathway to success?

Understanding who you are and what you need will allow your business to thrive! If you’re truly ready to break old habits and get out of the rut I encourage you to check out the Habitology membership.

Learn more here:

Learn More

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E#191 Share Your Brilliance!

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This episode is about sharing your brilliance!

Today I want to talk to you about sharing your brilliance. After all, you are an amazing practitioner who wants to change the world, and therefore, you need to be able to let people know how you do this, and then, to do it well.

I am talking through the lens of a summit I’m speaking at shortly and will share some tips and insights to help you get your brilliance into the world!

In the show notes, I’m sharing a link to your FREE ticket to the Share Your Brilliance Summit, being held from May 23 – 27, 2022.

In this episode, I’ll talk about 
* What Sharing Your Brilliance is All About
* What Gets In the Way of Your Brilliance?
* The FREE Share Your Brilliance Summit
* Three Steps to Share Your Brilliance

What is “Sharing Your Brilliance” All About?

Brilliance means splendour or magnificence. And in a business context, I think that sharing your brilliance is about bringing your greatness, your zone of genius and your special skills and talents into the world.

Why does this matter?

Because as an authentic person who is in the business of helping and supporting others, you are on this world to make a difference, to have an impact, to help others to overcome their fears, challenges and find the joy and fulfilment they deserve.

Further, if you have greatness and the power to help others, it would be an absolute travesty if you DIDN’T share your brilliance.

Everyone would be missing out on the impact of your superpowers!

What Gets in the Way of Your Brilliance?

I think you and I both know the answer – it’s the stuff between your ears. Your fear, your lack of confidence, your scattered thoughts, your impostor syndrome.

Feeling not good enough.

Not knowing where to start.

And when you say those sorts of things to yourself repeatedly, they become beliefs. This is how beliefs are formed!

Now, I know how confusing business can be – especially if you are running an online business.

You’re on the journey of building a client base and getting things right in your business. But if you have any sort of impostor syndrome or self-doubt, there are a billion people out there trying to sell you the magic solution.

With SO much noise and information out there, so many people to compare yourself with, so many shiny objects….it can lead you away from your integrity.

It can be a challenge to work out how to get started and succeed in sharing your brilliance, and, find business strategies that suit multi-passionate, intuitive types like us.

The Share Your Brilliance Summit

That’s why I’m so excited to tell you about the Share Your Brilliance summit from May 23 – 27!

Most importantly, this event is totally, 100% FREE. No cost.

For 5 days, May 23 to 27, Natasha Berta of Connected Marketing is bringing you presentations from 25+ heart-led business owners who have found ways to grow their business without selling out on their soul. You’ll hear about everything from mindset, sustainable business foundations, content creation + creativity, your offer, how to reach more people, and more.

It features 25+ amazing presenters who are ready to teach and mentor you on how to book more sessions and have greater clarity about your value.

Let’s face it, these things are the secret sauce for building a purposeful, profitable business. Communicating your value and booking more sessions with paying clients.

The goal for this summit is different than most. It’s going to be more like an online retreat than a summit with morning movement sessions, daytime learning sessions and wrapping up each day with a sound healing to integrate it all.

Plus, there is a theme for each day tailored to people in business who are just like you – waiting and wanting to share YOUR brilliance.

For example, I am going to be speaking at the summit, on How to Create a Client Centric Program that Sells.

I am so excited to be featured alongside some pretty big names in business, including:

· George Kao
· Danielle Gardner
· Karen Humphries
· Lucine Eusani
· Bridget Avgoustakis
· Claire Kerslake
· Aesha Kennedy
· Chantal Khoury
· And a whole lot more

There’s a free option and an affordable VIP pass with tons of goodies.

Each presentation will be available to you for 24 hours, but you can also get lifetime access (along with some other amazing bonuses) by grabbing the VIP All-Access Pass.

There’s more I’d love to tell you about this summit, but I’ll let you check out all the details for yourself – and you can grab a free ticket for the Share Your Brilliance Summit using this link!

How You Can Share Your Brilliance

So, how do you share your brilliance?

Here are some ideas to get started.

Firstly, clarify the value of working with you and the service you offer.

  1. Write down all the skills and strengths you have – think about the things that come EASILY to you but are hard for others to do.
  2. Make a list of your top three strongest values. What drives you, and what makes you passionate about your work?
  3. Write down three important reasons why your work is so meaningful. If you can do this work, what sorts of impact or result does it have?

Secondly, define the turning point that causes people to reach out for help.

  1. What is the moment of realisation that they need to change? Where are they, and what is the situation?
  2. If you’ve been on the same journey, what was YOUR turning point?
  3. What is the pain that becomes so big, that the person reaches out for help?
  4. What is the result they know they desperately want?

Finally, work out who your target audience is, and where they might be. 

  1. Think about the people that light you up, who ‘get you’, and who you love to be around. What kind of people are they? 
  2. The saying goes that your niche is the version of you from 5 years ago. What kind of person are you?
  3. Think about where you like to hang out and find out about or buy services in your area. Where would you go, and what would your requirements for buying be – would you need to follow someone on LinkedIn for a while before speaking to them, or would you listen to their podcast, or something else? 

    These three sets of questions help you to define your value, your people, what they need help with, and where to find them. Feel free to write out your own set of questions in these areas to help you get clarity. 

    Also, go back to my previous episode 186 Three Proven Marketing Roadmaps for Coaches to help you get clarity on using your communication strengths to build your audience. 

    Summary

    Today I talked about what sharing your brilliance is, and some of the things that get in the way of that. I mentioned a totally FREE summit in May 2022, with over 25 experienced speakers to help you learn how to share your brilliance. A link to your free ticket is in the show notes.  

    Finally, I walked you through a three-step process to share your brilliance. What are you waiting for? Get out there and share your greatness with the world. I dare you! 

    Ready to get clarity on your pathway to success?

    Understanding who you are and what you need will allow your business to thrive! If you’re truly ready to break old habits and get out of the rut I encourage you to check out the Habitology membership.

    Learn more here:

    Learn More
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    E#190 Fear Vs Faith-Based Business

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    This episode is about fear vs faith-based business

    Today I want to talk to you about running your business from a position of fear versus a position of faith. This is such an important conversation to have. If you’re operating from a place of fear, it can really hurt your business. But if you can switch that and operate from a position of faith that you’ll succeed, of optimism, and hope, then it’s a totally different ball game.

    If you’re a new coach, if you have just graduated with your qualification, and you are getting ready to start your coaching business or practice, it’s a really exciting time. You have so much opportunity ahead of you!

    You have so much enthusiasm about making a difference in the world!

    But for a lot people starting out as a coach in business, there is this challenge around self-confidence self-worth and self-value.

    In this episode, I’ll talk about 
    * What a fear-based business looks like
    * HFlipping the Switch
    * What a faith-based business looks like

    Impostor syndrome is incredibly common.

    And that’s why today I want to talk about the impact of starting your coaching business from a position of fear, verses starting your coaching business from a position of faith.

    I want to give you some practical tips and tools to help you come from a better place, so that you can build your coaching business easily more quickly and to be more successful.

    What a Fear-Based Business Looks Like

    I want to start here so that you can see the impact of having this fear-based mindset on both your ability as a coach, and on your business.

    From a business perspective, a fear-based approach reduces your ability to make money, attract clients, and get ahead.

    A fear-based mentality is a little bit like a circular reference. It might start with impostor syndrome – who am I to coach? I’ve never run a business before – how will I ever succeed?

    You might be comparing yourself to others who have spent 10 years of blood, sweat and tears to build their business.

    And as a result, you feel like you won’t get things right, or you’ll fail or you won’t be able to find enough clients, or you won’t be good enough.

    That puts you into this repeating cycle of not taking action and worrying about the action that you do take – giving your brain the proof it needs that you’re not good enough.

    There is a confounding factor in this cycle that I want to alert you to.

    Here is a pro tip – If you start working with practice or paid clients who are ready, willing and able to change – even desperate to change – chances are they will love coaching with you and get great results.

    A lot of coaches starting out with this fear-based mentality want to find anyone with a pulse!!

    But, if the client is not ready, willing and able, they’ll probably be resistant, disinterested, unfocused and uncommitted.

    The kicker is that YOU will feel like the failure, but it’s actually probably not you!

    See how this fear-based ‘I need any clients I can get!’ mentality is hurting your self-value and self-efficacy – and your business?

    The fear-based approach sets you up to start looking for – and finding – evidence of failure. In other words, if focus on your fear of failing, then all you will see is the evidence that this is true.

    How does this kind of mindset affect your ability to start marketing your business?

    What happens to your ability to proactively go out to meet new people, talk about what you do with confidence, or become a specialist in a particular niche area if your head is full of this negative stuff?

    I know that when I started my own coaching business, even though I had been incredibly successful in other businesses, I had that same mindset.

    I kept asking myself questions like, where will I find clients, and what if they don’t get very good results, and what if I can’t make a living out of this, and what if I’m no good at this, how would I ever know?

    What happened is that I started to get more and more agitated and wound up about not succeeding, and I started to doubt myself, and feel threatened and judged by everybody around me who knew what I was trying to do.

    I felt disheartened. For the most part what was going on for me was that I didn’t have a specific enough niche, so people didn’t understand my messaging, and I wasn’t going to the right places therefore to find the people who I wanted to work with.

    If this sounds like you, then stick with me because now I’m going to talk about flipping the switch and having a more faith in yourself, and having a more positive attitude to your business so that you can start attracting clients more easily and becoming a better coach more quickly, and make more money.

    Flipping the Switch

    A turning point for me was doing some research to find out that there was a need and I want in my community. Identifying a need isn’t enough. After all, lots of people need help, but not many are

    ready, willing, and able to seek and pay for help. So I had to find those people who were motivated to change and were willing to pay to get my help.

    As soon as I did this, everything changed. And it’s a story I have seen time and time again with other coaches who have been successful.

    As soon as they committed to one thing that they knew people were willing to pay for, everything changed.

    If you do that, you create an upward spiral of thinking and acting positively – and this is how that can play out for you.

    My second pro-tip for this episode is to create a little roadmap of how to beat the imposter and get started. Here’s how.

    First of all, find some practice clients to work with who REALLY want to change and are ready to do so.

    Then, invite interest to be part of a pilot program, which is a safe, confidential environment for you to be imperfect, for them not to expect the world, and to get their honest feedback without too many expectations upfront.

    Be vulnerable and let them know it is a test for both of you, and that their opinion and feedback will really help you to help others in exactly the right way.

    If you get that combination right – the right people and a test environment – then invariably those first pilot clients will stick with your program and finish it, and then, they will more likely to succeed.

    And THEN, they will refer others to you!

    Imagine how you would feel having coached a handful of people who really wanted to change, and then were able to succeed and feel and look amazing?

    What would your mind be telling you in that situation?

    Would it be telling you that you were a failure or that you weren’t any good or that your results weren’t worth the money or anything like that?

    Of course not. And that’s the whole point.

    Once you start working with the right people and getting some initial results and focusing on them rather than your fears and inadequacies – a totally different region of your brain lights up.

    It’s the region associated with positive emotions, optimism, and hope.

    What a Faith-based Business Looks Like

    For me when I started my coaching business, as soon as I got those clients that were successful initially, I started wondering where can I find more of those people, and how can I share those wonderful results, and how can I help those people to continue to succeed?

    The initial results that my first successful clients got totally shifted the language in my head. And instead of focusing on me and my supposed shortcomings, I started to focus on the possibilities of change in my business.

    And pretty soon, most of my language was very different.

    Instead of asking why can’t I? I started asking how can I?

    I had the confidence that what I was doing was working. And I started to look for more opportunities. Everything just unfolded as it was meant to because I was moving forward in my mind.

    I was believing in what was possible based on some initial results. And I was totally focused on pursuing opportunities knowing that I had something of value to offer, rather than being frightened of speaking to anybody in case I couldn’t figure out the words to describe what I was doing or in case I couldn’t prove my results.

    This is such an important episode. It takes courage and a bit of confidence to take those first steps into your profession, once you get those couple of important wins on the board it gives you the confidence to gain momentum to keep going and getting traction and continue taking action in the right direction.

    Your brain will switch from how will I ever do it, into where do I go next?

    Of course you will probably need support to face and work on your fears, and probably your own personal and/or business coach.

    But please know this – as Henry Ford said – If you think you can, or you think you can’t, you’re probably right.

    Summary

    Today I covered the difference between a fear-based versus a faith-based coaching business.

    One involves getting bogged down in everything you can’t possibly do or succeed in, and keeps you stuck there. And unless things change, you’ll probably fail in your business and as a coach.

    But, if you commit to a more faith-based approach, where you develop faith in your method and in your ability to succeed, and you put your clients first and find the right people, it will flick the switch in your brain and reveal a positive path of traction, momentum and success.

    Today, I walked you through a simple plan to develop a faith-based coaching business.

    What are you waiting for? Go out and get started.

    Ready to get clarity on your pathway to success?

    Understanding who you are and what you need will allow your business to thrive! If you’re truly ready to break old habits and get out of the rut I encourage you to check out the Habitology membership.

    Learn more here:

    Learn More
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    E#189 How to boost your professional credibility

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    This episode is about how to boost your professional credibility

    When you start a new profession, one of the most important parts of marketing is developing professional credibility and a good reputation. Today I’d like to share a golden opportunity for you as a professional health and wellness coach, to do just that in June 2022.

    Starting out in your health and wellness coaching business is exciting and challenging. And initially, you need to put in a lot of work to become seen, known, liked and trusted.

    Further to that, you want to be more than just known – you want to be seen as a reputable professional who is properly qualified and who is confident in what they’re doing.

    In this episode, I’ll talk about 
    * 7 Reasons Why the Conference is a Must Attend Event
    * How This Event Can Rocket Fuel Your Coaching Business
    * Why We All Have a Role in Putting Health and Wellness Coaching on the Map

    How do you do that?

    Well, there are many ways, and I want to talk about one specific golden opportunity for you to boost your professional credibility if you are a health and wellness coach in Australia or New Zealand.

    This opportunity is the HCANZA conference, being held on the Gold Coast on 2 – 3 June 2022. The conference is called Health and Wellness Coaching Conference – Breaking Through – Health and Wellness Coaching in a Post-Pandemic World.

    Before we unpack this, I’d like to say that any professional conference attendance gives you similar opportunities, but this particular conference gives you a one-time-only opportunity to be seen, heard and recognised as a professional.

    7 Reasons Why the HCANZA 2022 Conference is a Must-Attend Event

    There are several reasons why this is such an important event and such a significant opportunity for you as an individual health and wellness coach.

    Not in the least, is the fact that the world we know, our workforce, what’s important to us, the awareness of health and the willingness to change have been irrevoc

    Now more than ever, coaching is a viable career option, and it’s a golden opportunity to put Health and Wellness Coaching on the map as an important part of navigating health and wellbeing into the future.

    1. Showcasing Health and Wellness Coaching as a Reputable Industry

    This inaugural conference provides the opportunity for our industry association and its members to showcase the skills and the breadth in-depth of knowledge and experience that health and wellness coaches have and share those with the world.

    We have global experts Zooming in or attending live to speak at this event. Some of them are founders of the industry and have played a significant role in building our profession from the ground up over the past 20-odd years.

    With global key opinion leaders together in the room, it gives a huge weight of credibility and reputation that we can promote and advertise to medical professionals, allied health professionals and the general public to promote ourselves as an evidence-based, high calibre profession.

    This alone puts health and wellness coaching squarely on the map.

    2. Showing the Value of Health and Wellness Coaching, and Where it Fits

    This conference is our chance to explain our scope of practice and highlight how we complement other health professionals so that their clients and patients can achieve better health outcomes more easily and in a shorter time.

    We show our value with case studies, storytelling and real-life examples of business and client success.

    We’ll share how coaches and coaching organisations have changed lives by working in a complementary way with other health professionals, giving everyone who attends a clear understanding of exactly how and where coaching adds value to existing health professionals and treatment frameworks, and independent businesses.

    Remember, this is the first time in Australia and New Zealand that such a conference has been held, and it’s our opportunity to share these facts and success stories for huge media coverage and collective recognition.

    3. Clearly Explaining How We Work

    Have you ever had trouble describing what you do and how you work?

    The stories, case studies and expert presentations at this conference will equip you, the attendee, with clear insights and anecdotes to share with prospective clients, partners and advocates in your own practice when you get home to explain clearly how you work with people and what sorts of results and outcomes are possible.

    You will learn how to describe your profession and skill set in a more succinct way.

    You will develop a confident spiel about the important conditions for change such as self-awareness as an essential first step, and how health and Wallace coaching empowers self-responsibility, which saves the health system and the individual billions of dollars each year.

    4. Improve Networking Skills and Confidence

    Another great reason to attend this conference is that it gives you skills, experience and confidence in networking.

    Networking with other health professionals pretty much an essential part of fast-tracking your marketing and gaining success in your business.

    By attending this conference, you will get to polish up your skills of breaking the ice, having friendly conversations, making your contacts, and starting conversations that lead somewhere, with like-minded people.

    How will you feel, having brushed up your networking skills in a safe environment with trusted colleagues?

    How much easier will the next conference or networking event be?

    What impact will that have on your business or coaching practice?

    5. Build Important, Business Building Alliances

    I’ve just touched on the skills of networking, but have you considered what they might lead to?

    If you think about it, conferences are networking events that offer business-building opportunities.

    The #1 challenge coaches tell me they have is running their business in isolation, feeling alone, with nobody to bounce ideas off.

    Attending this conference in person gives you a more personal connection with other coaches that you’ve only ever met online. That live meeting will cement your relationships and help them grow.

    Through those conversations, you might even find some opportunities and leads to help you in your business.

    Think of how you’re going to feel after walking out of a conference with a handful of really great contacts that you can stay in touch with and possibly even collaborate with or get help from to grow your practice?

    Or finding someone who is doing complementary work and you find an opportunity to help each other?

    Or simply being inspired by one of the speakers and discovering strategies that you can apply right away to your own business?

    One way or another, you have the chance to learn some important skills and develop some strong support networks and alliances.

    6. Increased Confidence, Belief and Action-taking

    How are you feeling so far, having thought about all these benefits?

    I bet you are feeling pretty pumped up. And that leads me to my next point – this conference is essential to your business development, your confidence, and your personal and professional growth.

    You might hear that and think, “well that’s a pretty big claim to make”.

    Yes, it is – but it’s 100% true.

    Think back to the last time you attended a conference or event – how did you feel?

    If you have ever been to any sort of sizeable event, you probably remember the huge buzz, sense of enthusiasm, inspiration, energy, confidence, optimism and hope that you felt.

    You probably left that session on a high, with so much belief and a readiness to take action based on what you learned or discovered.

    There is a saying that we are the average of the five people closest to us. In a professional context, it’s important that you are rubbing shoulders with people who have more experience, more knowledge, and a greater sense of conviction about what is possible with your modality, so that you can continue to hope, believe, and create success that you wish for in your profession.

    Listening to professional coaches speaking gives you the sense of what’s possible for you. It makes your discipline in your profession relatable and within your reach. And it gives you the opportunity for some personal growth and to identify what you need to focus on in order to keep moving forward and growing as a coach and as a person.

    Remember that we are in the relationship building industry, and your ability to be self-confident is critical to your success. You can learn how other people have built their own self-confidence and their skill as a coach so that you create a roadmap to get there yourself.

    That leads me to my last point on why attending this conference is so important.

    7. The Ripple Effect

    The final benefit of this conference that I want to talk about is the ripple effect.

    For this inaugural conference to really help to put our profession on the map, we need to sell all the tickets and speak to everyone we know about it.

    If it’s down to the HCANZA board and few members to do this, we’re not going to get very much media coverage or excitement or visibility.

    But if the conference is a sell out and we’re all sharing the word and the success stories, it is a totally different ball game.

    It shows that there is a strong collective of coaches who are qualified and who uphold a standard of practice, and who stand together as a united voice to speak about the benefits and opportunities that health and wellness coaching provides.

    And at a larger scale, the success of our industry depends on the commitment of every person who is certified and working in the capacity of a health and wellness coach, to find their voice and speak up about the profession, this event, and every one that follows.

    It’s not something that a few people can do on their own. For this to work we need to have everybody putting their hand up turning up and being part of something that is bigger than the individual, and which has the potential to create a significant impact on our health systems, longevity and quality of life.

    Yes, the number of people attending the conference and telling everyone about it, is important for our profession.

    But it’s also important at the other end of the conference long after it’s finished. Because you’re going to walk away feeling inspired and enthusiastic and excited, and you’re going to have a head full of new knowledge, ideas and cutting edge information.

    And what’s going to happen to that information?

    You’re going to be excited to share it with everybody you know.

    You’re going to be equipped with information and words that will help you to network with other health professionals, reach potential clients, find collaborative partners, and find cross referral opportunities.

    The more people that attend and promote this conference at the same time, the bigger the visibility and impact we can have.

    This really is a critical time and event in the development of our industry.

    Summary

    Today, I got pretty ranty about boosting your professional credibility, and more specifically, using the inaugural Health and Wellness Coaching Conference – Breaking Through – Health and Wellness Coaching in a Post-Pandemic World – as a vehicle to really showcase our profession.

    I outlined just seven of the many benefits of attending.

    In summary there are so many opportunities for personal and professional growth at this conference. So much rich content, information and relationships to be found in this conference. All you need to do is attend. https://www.conference.hcanza.org/?_ga=2.5600117.73171265.1650423249-552347760.1650423249

    Ready to get clarity on your pathway to success?

    Understanding who you are and what you need will allow your business to thrive! If you’re truly ready to break old habits and get out of the rut I encourage you to check out the Habitology membership.

    Learn more here:

    Learn More
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    E#188 3 Reasons Why Knowing Your Niche is Valuable

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    This episode is about 3 reasons why knowing your niche is valuable

    Why does having a niche and knowing your niche matter in business? Simply, because it allows you to quickly build trust, and rapport and be seen as a specialist or expert, and therefore attract clients more easily. Today, I’ll outline three reasons why knowing your niche is valuable, with some examples, and how you can get to this level yourself.

    While marking assessments in my Passion to Profit course, it became clear that some students knew their niche really well. I’d like to showcase the value of knowing your niche by sharing some of the insights presented by students.

    In this episode, I’ll talk about 
    * Speaking Their Language In Your Marketing
    * Matchmaking Relevant Program Content
    * Referrals, Referrals, Referrals

    Reason 1 – You Can Speak Their Language in Your Marketing

    When you understand what your niche is going through each day, you can easily demonstrate that and tell their story in your marketing.

    When asked about the type of content they would create for the niche, one student really understood that her audience (busy professionals) were very capable people but often felt alone. They are the type of women that have role models and like learning from other successful women, and they like reputable, fact-based information sources.

    Her ideas for content included expert interviews with or by other women, fact-based news and statistics, and some self-assessment tests.

    These content ideas are perfectly matched to a professional, capable niche and will likely create better engagement.

    Her niche are readers who trust published information written in more formal language, and who expect more professional standard of information.

    To that end, she has self-published a book, has developed a newsletter and will be creating a series of videos that match what they need and want.

    This coach has also identified that her busy professional audience wants to wind down and get ready for a fun and inspiring weekend, so she plans to create content on Thursdays for posting on Friday – just in time to end the week on a positive note.

    What happens when you know your niche so intimately?

    You know what they want, can anticipate when and how they want to receive it, and what they need and want to hear.

    This builds trust and rapport, and makes you the logical choice as the right person to work with.

    When you get to the stage of a ‘good fit’ call, they have often already decided you’re the one they want to work with, because you ‘get’ them and speak the same language.

    Reason 2 – You can Matchmake Relevant Program Content to Your Niche

    With a niche of busy, stressed professionals, this same student decided that the flavour of her content should be short and to the point (time efficient and easy to read).

    In her marketing and her programs, she’s developing shorter forms and surveys using via electronic links to complete and submit online with the press of a button, rather than lengthy documents to fill in.

    Her niche tends to feel negative or frustrated, so she will focus on positive statements and reframes to help boost their spirits and bring a bit of spark to their day, and a supportive group that helps them to feel connected and engaged.

    Reason 3 – Referrals, Referrals, Referrals

    What comes to mind when you think of a specialist?

    When I hear that word, I think expertise, a higher price, someone who knows exactly what I’m going through and what I need, and someone who is equipped to help me with every little thing.

    Niching down and being more specific allows you to be good at something specific – to become a specialist.

    When you run a coaching program that is tailored to a certain type of person, using the content, words and imagery that they more personally relate to, they will more likely commit, persist and succeed with your program.

    Of course, this assumes that you have screened and prequalified them first as someone who is ready, willing and able to change!

    There is a saying that goes, you are the average of the 5 people closest to you.

    What does that mean, in the context of THIS conversation?

    It means that your successful clients have at least five friends who are just like them.

    In other words, they know at least five people who are also in your niche.

    If they have had the experience of personal, specialist experience from someone who ‘gets’ them and even better, has been on the journey or worked with lots of people like them, they will tell ALL their friends, which means referrals, referrals and more referrals.

    In my previous weight loss coaching business, I would invite my finishing participants to let their friends and colleagues know about my coming information sessions, and to invite them to attend.

    That alone ensured that my next information sessions were fully booked, and resulted in 95% conversion rates on the night.

    Summary

    Niching down is important not just for client attraction and engagement, but also for client success and results and even better, referral to more people like them (who are your ideal client).

    Ready to get clarity on your pathway to success?

    Understanding who you are and what you need will allow your business to thrive! If you’re truly ready to break old habits and get out of the rut I encourage you to check out the Habitology membership.

    Learn more here:

    Learn More
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    E#185 How to Write a Magnetic ‘About Me’ Story

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    This episode is about how to write a magnetic ‘About Me’ story

    Do you want to attract more clients to your business – and the RIGHT kind of clients?

    As part of my Passion to Profit course, I ask my students to write an About Me story as a critical part of their marketing. In this episode, I’ll explain how to write it in a way that attracts the right kinds of clients more easily, and with fewer objections.

    What An About Me Story Is – and Why It Matters

    Statistics show that your About Me story is one of the most-read pieces of content on your website.

    So, what is an about me story?

    In this episode, I’ll talk about 
    * What an About Me Story Is – and Why it Matters
    * Four Things Your About Me Story Must Cover
    * How Your About Me Story Attracts the Right Clients
    * Four Steps to a Magnetic About Me Story

    It’s the story that describes your journey from tragedy to triumph, to arrive at where you are today.

    It is an emotive story that captures four important things:

    1. Who you are as a person (your personality)
    2. How do you relate to your niche (your story)
    3. Your values
    4. The position and value of your business

    In his 2015 book called Dotcom Secrets, founder of Clickfunnels Russell Brunson describes this as an Attractive Character Avatar – a public persona that people immediately relate to and connect with.

    Why does the about me story matter?

    Well, because first impressions count, and your About Me page is often the first thing people look for on your website. A well-written story builds connection, rapport and trust with the reader.

    Four Things Your About Me Story Must Cover

    Remember that people buy you, not your service. There are four things that your About Me story must cover in order to build trust and rapport in the reader. It must show the reader:

    1. What they have in common with you – in terms of age, stage of life, problem, values, journey and personality

    2. How deeply you understand their day-to-day struggles with the problem

    3. That you are a role model for success, giving them hope and a sense of what is possible and achievable for them

    4. That you have more than just professional expertise, but personal lived experience with an issue – and how best to overcome it.

    Think about how much trust that generates!

    How Your About Me Story Attracts the Right Clients

    Think about any more generic About Me story that you’ve read on a website or one that is full of qualifications.

    How did you feel when you read it?

    A dry, boring, linear account of your academic history can cause readers to skim at best, and switch off at worst.

    Yes, qualifications matter, but it’s personal engagement that actually sells.

    By telling a heartfelt, emotive story of tragedy to triumph, the reader will see themselves in your words.

    They’ll know that you ‘get’ how they are feeling.

    They’ll get to know you a bit more personally, and to understand your personality, values and approach.

    By the end of your relatable story, the reader should be clear about how aligned they are with you, and whether you are the right person to help them or not.

    In other words, a well-written story can either attract or repel the reader – so you end up with enquiries from people who are pre-sold that you might be a good personality fit for them – and very few mismatches or tyre kickers!

    How To Write a Magnetic About Me Story

    Start by doing some exercises to prepare to write your story.

    If you haven’t had a journey yourself, you might have had experience with many clients in a niche, or friends and family around you with a certain problem.

    Your About Me story can convey your story OR your experience with others.

    You might like to think about and write some notes about:

    1. Your best and most likeable personal traits
    2. A clear journey that matches the niche you work with (your story, or someone else’s)
    3. Your strengths and values
    4. What matters to you most or your vision
    5. Your struggles (or your client/friend’s struggle) to get there
    6. What the turning point was (for you or your client/friend)
    7. How it felt to make the decision, and what the decision was
    8. The success and how it felt

    Once you have done this, you probably have all the elements to write a great story about a journey that you or others have had.

    It needs to be real, emotive and compelling.

    Here are some tips for getting it right.

    1. Start with a defining event

    You can draw the reader in with a specific event that triggered a chain reaction.

    For example:

    “The year I turned 35, I was living my best life. I was travelling extensively for work, partying hard, and playing golf and tennis. Then I married my best friend and we knew we wanted to have kids right away. It would be the icing on the cake of a perfect life.

    But after 6 months of trying, we were unable to get pregnant, and it was then that I was diagnosed with polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS).

    Suddenly my world collapsed, and we were faced with some hard decisions about what to do. We were facing expensive treatment, a hormonal rollercoaster, and no guarantee of success.”

    Notice in that example, I outlined how good life was, and how this one specific event was so big that it stopped the person in their tracks.

    It covered specific events in a timeline and described all the emotions that were felt along the way. Remember, this could be your story or the story of a client that came to you for help and succeeded (written in the third person).

    This part helps the reader connect with you as a person on a similar journey, or who has helped people like them. It is where resonance and trust start.

    Are you someone that they could relate to and work with?

    2. Define the emotional turmoil

    Next, you want to talk about the pain of this – the cost of the struggle. This highlights the personal reasons why getting help and seeking a solution are so important. In doing this, you get to share your values and motivators, which might be the same as your client.

    For example:

    “We were told by the specialist that if I went ahead with treatment, life would change dramatically. I would need time off work and our income would drop.

    I would have to deal with uncomfortable side effects of the treatment. It would make me more emotional, and it would change my body.

    My husband and I talked about the consequences. He would have to be the main income earner, and on top of that I would be relying on him for more emotional support.

    We would have to decide whether we really wanted kids badly enough to go through with these massive changes and this uncertainty.”

    Notice in this example, I am talking about that initial stage of diagnosis and talking about things that the reader with this problem might be going through. The reader who relates to this would be thinking – YES – this person gets it!

    This part helps the reader connect with their version of the problem, and to weigh up how big of a problem something is for them right now.

    Is the reader going through this too, and are they ready to make a decision?

    3. Describing the turning point

    Whenever there is a problem that someone is facing, they weigh up the pros and cons of change before deciding what to do, as we heard in that last point.

    Humans are driven to avoid pain, so when there are more benefits to change than not, it creates the motivation to act and seek help.

    Describing the decision-making and action in detail – what you realised, what was decided, how it felt and what the next steps were – helps your reader to make their own decision, and get some ideas on what getting started might look like.

    It also gives them ‘permission’ to ask for help. After all, if a competent role model like you sought help – then the reader might be able to do it too!

    On the other hand, what happens if you were to write about how you did it all yourself? It might be off-putting for the reader. They might feel that it’s too hard, or they’re not good enough to do it themselves!

    If you manage to weave in the importance and value of getting support, it could help the reader to find the courage to reach out to you. This is important from a marketing perspective (not so much the resonance of the story itself).

    For example:

    “Being undecided was an excruciating place to be. We needed to make a decision one way or the other, and we both felt so much pressure to choose the right option – but we had no idea what it was! We had so many unanswered questions.

    How would we pay for the expensive treatment?

    Were we up for this, financially and emotionally?

    Could our marriage handle it?

    Or could we face a life without kids?

    What would that look like?

    As our next specialist appointment drew nearer, we decided to go for it. But it would be hard on our own, and between specialist visits. I would need to make sure I was doing everything possible to make my body healthy and better equipped to handle potential pregnancy.

    My specialist recommended a health coach who specialised in optimising health for women trying to fall pregnant.

    She was amazing – not just in helping me be consistent with positive habits like eating well and exercising safely, but also with the emotional support I needed. She helped me to set boundaries at work so I could finish earlier, get more rest, and also accept that I needed to slow down!

    I have achieved so much in so many areas of my life, but without the support of my coach and the community she offered, I would have truly struggled with so many things.

    Notice in this example, I am talking about the fear and questions, the process for getting support, and how the support benefitted the person.

    This part helps the reader to understand that help is available, and how it helps them get through this situation. It helps to generate hope and optimism, relief and other positive emotions.

    4. Amplifying the outcome

    Change is hard, and it is often a struggle. It requires focus, dedication and persistence, and to set time aside.

    A person will only go through that if there is a reward at the end – and if it’s the reward they want.

    Your ability to articulate that clearly, at the end of your About Me story, is essential for helping someone feel ready, willing and able to change – and that you are the right person to help them.

    If your reasons and benefits are the same as theirs, they will likely reach out to you for help.

    For example:

    “Fast forward two years, and we have an amazing little girl who is healthy and happy. We managed to fall pregnant on the second round of treatment, and my coach was invaluable for helping me keep my physical and mental health in check.

     

    I went on to study Health and Wellness Coaching, because I wanted to help women like me who were taking that leap of faith, to do so with their best foot forward.

    And even though I’m a qualified coach now with a Professional Certificate of Health and Wellness Coaching, I still check in with my coach every 2 – 3 months. I am healthier than I’ve ever been, thanks to her ongoing support.

    Right now, she is that objective, non-judgemental person who helps me to navigate the challenges and the joys of raising a baby while running my business. She helps me make better decisions and to be consistent with the habits that keep me healthy and happy.

    I have been working with my own clients for 12 months now and am so excited to be doing this important work.

    I am so excited and relieved that things worked out. Finally, we get the family we wanted, and we are even talking about baby number 2! For us, making this decision was the best thing we’ve ever done.

    If you are reading this story and going through this right now – please take your time to think about all the angles of your decision.

    And if you have taken that deep breath and decided to go for it – please know that there are people who can support you and help you through it, regardless of the outcome.”

    This part fast forwards to the joy and reinforces the benefits and importance of getting help. It speaks to what’s possible, helps them to connect with the desired outcome, whether you are the right person, and once again, to work out if they are ready, willing and able to do the work.

    Summary

    Today we discussed what an About Me story is, why it matters, and four things it must cover.

    If you get it right, you will build trust and attract the right clients to your business, and they will be ‘pre-sold’ that you are the right person to help them.

    There are four parts of a magnetic About Me story:

    1. A defining event

    2. Defining the emotional turmoil

    3. Describing the turning point

    4. Amplifying the outcome If you need help to write an About Me story, book a good fit call to see if I can help you. My books are closed to personal clients until July 2022, but I have space in my June Passion to Profit program if you need help to build the foundations of your business. Click the link to learn more about the program.

    Ready to get clarity on your pathway to success?

    Understanding who you are and what you need will allow your business to thrive! If you’re truly ready to break old habits and get out of the rut I encourage you to check out the Habitology membership.

    Learn more here:

    Learn More
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    E#181 The Skills of Connection

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    This episode is about the skills of connection

    If you want to operate a business, any business, but especially a coaching business, your ability to connect with people is a key skill that you need to learn. I want to share some insights on the skills required to build connections and some tips on how to become better at connecting with prospective and actual clients.

    What is Connection?

    Connection is the attachment and relationships we form with others. It is essential to human survival, and it helps us feel aligned with ourselves and others.

    Connecting with others helps us to build trust and rapport – and these are two VERY important criteria for someone to buy from you.

    Think about the last time you bought a service – price aside, why did you buy from that particular person?

    In this episode, I’ll talk about 
    * What connection is
    * The skills of connection
    * Practicing and developing the skills
    * You don’t need a marketing course to learn connection
    * Putting yourself out there

    Chances are, it was because you felt a connection – a sameness, or alignment of values or experience – that helped you to have enough trust to want to work with them.

    I have a couple of my own examples.

    Once, I hired a business coach who was younger than me and who had only been in business for two years. She has the specific experience that I didn’t have, but the whole time, I had discomfort and uncertainty around her overall business knowledge and therefore, her value as a professional. It was a short-term arrangement.

    Much later, I worked with a business coach who was a similar age and had a specific experience that I didn’t have….but she is a lot more like me in personality. She also has 10 years of experience in her specific craft with a proven track record, a coaching qualification, a team working for her, and a book published. It was also a short-term arrangement, but I constantly refer others to her, promote her and would willingly go back to her, and may even approach her for a strategic alliance in future.

    The subtleties of our personality fit, values and professional ethics are incredibly influential and powerful in our business relationships. Knowing how to connect is therefore critically important.

    It’s about more than just attracting clients – it’s also about knowing who ISN’T your client.

    What are the Skills of Connection?

    Strong connections are built on good communication, common ground and a common, meaningful purpose.

    If you want to build your skills in connection, you need to know what the skills are and find ways to practice them.

    Skills

    The skills required for creating connections could include:

    • Active listening (being able to listen intently to what is being said – without thinking of what you will say next)
    • Empathy
    • Asking positively-framed, big-picture questions
    • Reflecting back on what you hear someone say
    • Reframing, i.e. even though (negative), there is still (positive)
    • Having respect for the other person as the expert in their own life
    • Seeing the other person as resourceful and able to find their own solutions
    • Being able to identify shared values or beliefs in something
    • Clarity on your vision and values
    • Leadership
    • Self-regulation (the ability to regulate your emotions & behaviours regardless of what others say or do)
    • Trusting yourself

    You may notice that these skills relate largely to the ICF core competencies #4 – cultivating trust and safety, #5 – maintaining presence, and #6 – listening actively. I’ll include a link so you can access them and see the full details.

    Being able to truly listen to and understand another person is a key starting point for building connection.

    But that last point is also important – it’s trusting yourself and feeling confident enough to initiate conversations.

    What do I mean by this?

    Well, consider how own confidence affects your ability to start conversations. How important is that for you?

    What helps you to feel more confident?

    I would hazard a guess that it’s about three things:

    1. practising the skills

    2. developing self-efficacy in your skills, and

    3. regular exposure to new people.

    Let’s talk about how to do that.

    How to Practice and Develop Your Connection Skills

    No matter what your starting point, you can learn and improve your communication skills and become better at making connections.

    Practising the skills can be done in a number of ways. I will brainstorm a few ideas with you here.

    1. Pick one skill and polish it up

    This is a good method if you’re a fairly confident person and a self-starter kind of person.

    Firstly, you can choose one of the skills (like active listening) and practice it over the next week with someone you live with or someone at work. Then at the end of each day, write a reflection on how you went, and what you learned.

    Once you feel you have made some progress you can dive deeper, or you can pick another skill to add to the mix.

    Remember, it’s not just about mastering the skill – it’s also about making it a habit, so don’t rush this process. It takes around 83 days on average for a habit to become automatic – take your time and do it well.

    2. Watch and learn

    This is a good method if you’re a bit less confident or are a kinaesthetic or interactive learner.

    Secondly, you can research coaching or other videos, or identify people you know who have a skill you want to learn and watch how they do it.

    All animals learn through mimicry and play, including humans!

    Setting aside time each week to study and observe others is a great way to ‘see how to do it’ before you start practising for yourself.

    There are plenty of videos on YouTube that can help, or your coach training organisation may have sample videos for you to watch and deep dive into.

    3. Find a mentor

    This is a good method if you lack experience and are not very confident in yourself or your skills.

    There are plenty of coaches around who offer free or paid mentoring.

    Practising your connection skills at a more professional level is incredibly helpful if you want to get some live feedback and tips as to whether you’re doing it right.

    4. Join a Community of Practice

    Community of Practice (COP) is something that many coaching associations offer as an opportunity to build and practise specific skills with other coaches.

    For example, ICF members have access to free and low-cost sessions, 1 – 2 hours long, where you learn about and practice specific core competencies.

    I recently attended one of these that was free to ICF members or $50 for non-members. It focused on maintaining presence, ICF core competency #5, and it was a lot of breakout room work for practice conversations with other coaches of varying levels of experience.

    I gained a lot of insight into how I can improve my presence and got practice with building connections.

    You Don’t Need a Marketing Course to Learn Connection

    I know I said earlier that connection is an essential skill that you need to run a business – but you’ll notice I didn’t mention anything about marketing training or courses here.

    That’s because connection is useful in marketing, but I feel it’s better developed in a more personal environment that focuses on core communication skills – like the coaching industry offers.

    Putting Yourself Out There

    Although you might be shuddering at the thought right now, the next step is to start meeting a wider circle of people to practice your skills.

    Your ability to build a business relies on your ability to build new connections that might connect you with potential clients, or who might be potential clients themselves.

    Finding ease in communication and conversation can break down a lot of those confidence barriers and make it much easier for you to start approaching people you don’t know, or don’t know well. To help you on this journey, I suggest you go back to episode 56 of this podcast, about icebreakers. Once you have polished up your connection skills, learning how to start conversations is a logical next step.

    Summary

    Today, we talked about connection and its relevance in building your coaching business.

    Connection is defined as the attachment and relationships we form with others, and it is something that builds trust and rapport – two very important criteria for having someone buy from you.

    The skills of connection are simply related to many of the core coaching competencies, particularly in terms of building trust, maintaining presence, and listening.

    You also need to trust yourself and feel confident enough that you can have conversations with people – and the only way to build that trust and confidence is through practice.

    We covered four ways to practice and develop your connection skills, including:

    1. Picking one skill (at a time) and intentionally practising it

    2. Watching and learning from others

    3. Finding a mentor

    4. Joining a community of practice.

    It may seem like you need to learn marketing skills in order to learn about connection with potential clients – but this simply isn’t true. It’s the coaching competencies and practice that will help you develop good communication skills, and marketing becomes an extension of that skill set.

    From there, learning how to break the ice will equip you to go out into the big, wide world, and start building connections with your newfound skills.

    THIS is actually the secret to building your business.

    References https://coachfederation.org/core-competencies https://anchor.fm/habitology/episodes/E56-5-Steps-to-Engaging-Icebreaker-Conversations-e57458

    Ready to get clarity on your pathway to success?

    Understanding who you are and what you need will allow your business to thrive! If you’re truly ready to break old habits and get out of the rut I encourage you to check out the Habitology membership.

    Learn more here:

    Learn More
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    E#170 4 Ways to Beat Imposter Syndrome

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    This episode is about 4 ways to beat imposter syndrome

    Imposter syndrome has been a hot topic lately and I have decided to talk about it again in this episode. 

    I have worked with several clients in the last year who have been struggling with imposter syndrome. And through the process of coaching conversations, I have seen a few things that have been really effective in helping people to beat impostor syndrome.

    The thing with impostor syndrome is that it creates an unhelpful downward spiral. If you are plugging negative thoughts into your head, then your brain takes that as an instruction and starts looking for evidence to prove the thoughts right.

    In this episode, I’ll talk about 
    * What is impostor syndrome?
    * How to overcome impostor syndrome?
    * What are the methods that I can use to overcome impostor syndrome?

    That’s how our brains work. So you definitely need to learn some skills to manage those impostor thoughts and feelings.

    Sure, there is no magical quick fix for imposter syndrome. But there are habits that you can form that will help to diminish impostor syndrome and keep it at bay. They’re things that anyone can use, and benefit from.

    What is impostor syndrome?

    Healthline defines impostor syndrome as follows:

    Imposter syndrome, also called perceived fraudulence, involves feelings of self-doubt and personal incompetence that persist despite your education, experience, and accomplishments.

    They say that Impostor syndrome may manifest as perfectionism, struggling to deal with anything that doesn’t come easily, the belief that you should be able to do things on your own, believing you should have all the answers and be an expert, or linking your competence to success in all areas of life.

    In clients I’ve worked with, these patterns come up in conversation along with a sense that they will be judged or criticised if they don’t succeed, achieve perfection or have all the answers. 

    If any of this sounds familiar, then you might have a bit of imposter syndrome going on. 

    I want to point something out before we go any further. If you are learning anything new in your life, you know that there is going to be a steep learning curve. There is a period where you feel like you have no idea what you’re doing, because you haven’t had enough time to practice your new craft. 

    I see this a lot in  my work as in business startups and coach training within a health and wellness coach training school. I work mostly with mature adults who are going through a career change and have a lot of past success and knowledge – but who see their foray into a new career as challenging and disheartening. They are so used to feeling competent and now, suddenly, they are inexperienced newbies!

    Enter the impostor syndrome.

    Never mind! It is 100% normal to feel insecure when you are learning new things, to doubt yourself, and to feel like you don’t know enough, or aren’t doing it well enough. That’s called learning.

    Just like a small child learning to walk, falling down and then getting up to determinedly try again, you can learn to develop new skills and persist without feeling like a failure.

    How do you do that? Well, I’ve rustled up some of the ways that you can move past impostor syndrome more easily.

    I want to share four methods that have come up in coaching conversations with my clients that have been really effective in helping and overcome imposter syndrome. These are not one-time use methods – they need to be done consistently.

    Method #1 – Schedule time to recognise success 

    Self efficacy is a key part of beating impostor syndrome. Self-efficacy means that you have a sense of competence around your ability to do certain tasks or activities.

    For example, maybe you know that you are a good ballroom dancer, or that you are good at making cakes.

    Knowing that you have skills and strengths in a particular area confers a level of self-confidence.

    That’s why method #1 for beating impostor syndrome involves reflecting on wins in your daily life, or your progress with learning a skill.

    Here are a few ways you can do that.

    Firstly, if you are a coach, you can start working with practice clients and develop a self-reflective practice to implement after each coaching session that you do. Focus on being objective and non-emotive in your feedback, using neutral language. 

    Note what went well or not so well based on the client’s behaviour and feedback, what you feel went well, and what you might have done differently and why.

    A second way to build self-efficacy is to collect external feedback.

    If you are a coach, this would involve reading through testimonials and feedback surveys from your clients on a regular basis to remind yourself of the value of what you do. 

    This implies that you need to be collecting feedback after every coaching session as part of your business ‘habits’ or processes.

    Outside of coaching or your business, external feedback involves asking friends what they think your strengths are, or what they like about you. Ask for candid feedback from people you trust. It might feel a little uncomfortable, but you will probably be surprised about what comes back…..and delighted!

    Other than these ideas, you may have access to customer or colleague feedback at work, performance review feedback or simply the kind words of a compassionate friend who always champions you.

    A third way to build self-efficacy is to reflect on the value of what you do in your life.

    You could consider any area of your life. For example, the importance of being a parent. What is possible for your child because you care for them, house them, feed them and get them to school?

    What is possible if you continue to run your business or do your job – what good can that create in the world? Who can you help? And, by doing that work and helping those people – what will THEY be able to do?

    If you are new to coaching and are concerned about the value of your services, consider what is possible if your client gets to the end of their program and has made changes in a specific area of life? And THEN what is possible for them? And what else?

    In other words – use the big picture coaching questions toward the client who shows up and does their work, to see what is possible because of their work with you.

    Hopefully you can see that with a few questions and reflections, it is possible to recognise skills and strengths that you have, and to acknowledge how those things can have a bigger impact in your own life, or someone else’s. 

    Method #2 – Say I don’t know

    My husband recently told me a story about one of his first jobs in Australia. 

    He moved here from California and had no connections. Moving into a new job, he felt such pressure to have all of the answers and was really impacting him. 

    One day he was asked a question in a work meeting and he said simply, “I don’t know but I’ll get the answer and come back to you.” 

    He describes the sense that a huge weight was lifted from him because he could be totally honest (one of his strengths), he could go away and learn something, and he could still fulfill the request and gain probably more respect than if he had tried to bumble through an answer, as if he knew what he was talking about.

    I found the courage to do this a long time ago, and it was liberating.

    Think about it – nobody ever has all of the answers all of the time. If you can learn to be ok with that, you can remove at least some of the weight of expectation that you have placed on yourself. 

    To get a sense of this, see if you can recall a time where someone gave you an answer that you knew was a fake. How did it feel? What did you think about that person at the time?

    Now, imagine if they had been honest and told you they didn’t know, but would find out?

    I’m sure you can see the difference. And if we want to be really pointy about this – in those two versions of the situation, only one is an imposter – and it’s not the one telling the truth.

    Method #3 – Tap into your purpose 

    What I notice with all of my clients – literally all of them – is that when they feel like an imposter, they turn inward and focus on themselves and their own inadequacies.

    It becomes an emotional and sometimes judgemental conversation in their head that plays on repeat. And as I  mentioned earlier, when you are plugging those sorts of thoughts into your head, your brain takes that as an instruction and starts looking for evidence to prove the thoughts right.

    That’s how our brains work.

    So a way to flip that and get out of the unhelpful thought loops is to tap into your purpose.

    If you are a coach and/or a business owner, then your impostor syndrome might be around your ability to give value to your clients. It becomes a conversation all about you and your inadequacies. 

    But coaching is all about the client! By flipping this, you can get back into that client-centric mindset and start delivering value. 

    Reflect on some of those big picture, brain-opening questions.

    Why does my work matter to the world?

    What could this much-needed skill change in my community?

    What will happen when I become masterful – how will it help me and my clients?

    Why do I want to make a difference in people’s lives?

    As you can see, honing your purpose is a great way to pull away from the useless impostor thought loop and to re-focus on the big picture – your why behind it all.

    Method #4 – Accept yourself as a learner 

    Finally, if you feel like an impostor, it might be that your expectations are greater than what is realistic or possible right now.

    Being honest and objective with yourself and getting external feedback allows you to see clearly where you are at in the learning continuum.

    And sure, you might really wish you were further along – but maybe it’s time to step back and accept yourself as someone who doesn’t have all the answers, can’t do it perfectly, and is on the journey toward becoming masterful.

    This is the growth mindset!

    Accepting yourself as a learner gives you permission to make mistakes, be curious, learn from your challenges and build strength.

    Another perspective is this – they say it takes 10.000 hours or 10 years to truly master something.

    Consider where you are on that timeline. Yes, it can be sobering. But also, it’s a good reminder that your persistence in doing something you love will lead to a good outcome and, persistence in itself is part of winning in a world where so many people give up.

    Summary

    After several conversations about impostor syndrome, I wanted to share some insights on how to move through it more easily.

    Firstly, you can start scheduling time to recognise success. This could involve self-reflection on performance, reading client testimonials, asking friends for feedback, or reflecting on the downstream value or ripple effect of what you are doing.

    Secondly, you can practice saying I don’t know, but I’ll find out and get back to you. This single act will gain you respect and will ease the pressure you’ve been putting on yourself.

    Thirdly, you can tap into your purpose. Stop focussing inwards on your flaws, and start focussing outward on the bigger benefits and impacts of what you are doing.

    Fourth, you can accept yourself as a learner, on a journey to mastery, which takes 10,000 hours or 10 years – whatever comes first.

    Hopefully you are feeling better equipped to tackle your impostor syndrome.

    I’d love to know – which one of these methods will you try first?

    Ready to get clarity on your pathway to success?

    Understanding who you are and what you need will allow your business to thrive! If you’re truly ready to break old habits and get out of the rut I encourage you to check out the Habitology membership.

    Learn more here:

    Learn More
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    E#141 How to Bust Your Decision Blocks

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    This episode is about how to bust your decision blocks

    Includes offer to free P2P info session

    If you’re struggling with making decisions in your business or your life and you’re feeling overwhelmed and procrastinating then this episode is for you. I want to help you to bust through your decision-making blocks and start taking action so that you can create the business in life that you want and do it your way.

    In this episode, I’ll talk about 
    * Knowing and identifying decision blockers
    * How research can help you bust these blockers
    * How planning can help you overcome these blockers

    Decision Blockers

    I’m currently reading Lisa Sasevic’s book Meant for More. It’s a really inspiring book and I am totally aligned with what she says, she says what I think so eloquently. So I’d like to share some insights from her book in this episode.

    Lisa talks about the concept of decision blockers. These are things that stop you from pursuing your dreams. These are the things that keep you stuck in the I’m not good enough or it’s not perfect headspace and prevent you from achieving what you wish for.

    As Lisa rightly says, all transformation is preceded by a decision.

    In this case we are talking about daily and weekly decisions – the little things – as much as we are talking about the bigger decisions.

    Reflect on that for a moment, like I did.

    Maybe you’re trying to decide when to officially launch your business.

    Maybe you’re trying to choose a colour and font set for your business branding.

    Maybe you’re trying to finalise your website.

    Maybe you’re finding it hard to commit to a niche.

    Maybe you’re trying to decide which CRM to sign up for. 

    Maybe you’re trying to figure out whether you need a CRM, a certain email program, or financial package.

    Maybe you’re wondering whether you should do some specific training course to help you with your business, or to hire a business coach.

    Maybe you’re wondering if this coaching thing is really going to work and if you can commit to stepping away from your job, so that you can transition into your business.

    If you’re feeling overwhelmed just listening to this right now, that’s exactly what happens on a daily basis to a lot of people. You can see how this sort of thinking is not very helpful

    Now, remember a time that you’ve made a decision about something, and how much clarity, confidence, and certainty about what you’re going to do next. Even if the thing is a little bit scary, at least you are clear and confident about the next steps.

    So what gets in the way of making decisions like this and how do you get past that?

    Here are some ways to bust common decision blockers, according to Lisa Sasevich and I.

    1. Do “Just Enough” Research

    Some people do a lot of research before they make a decision. And if you are researching all the time and then never making decisions it means that you are researching probably a bit much.

    And while a little bit of research is great to help you make a decision, too much is going to tip you into decision blocking. 

    It’s easy to get stuck in analysis paralysis, especially if you are a questioner tenancy or if you lack self confidence.

    Here are two things you can do.

    Lisa recommends that you tune into what you really want, hear the answer, and take action. 

    I recommend that you put a time limit on your research – a hard stop – so you contain it to equip yourself with r ohhh  essential information to make a decision.

    2. Stop Seeking Opinions

    We’re not talking about market research here. If you are constantly second-guessing what you are creating, wanting to put out there, or wanting to sign up for, then you can ask other people about their experience and opinion to a certain point, but once again it’s easy to go overboard with this.

    Just remember that other people can give different perspectives but they have different values, goals, and resources.

    So like doing research, it’s important that you put a hard stop on the amount of opinions you seek, and to seek opinions from people who you believe are wise and sound. 

    But ultimately, I recommend you use those perspectives to either strengthen your own opinion, or reconsider it. 

    Here’s an example. Let’s say you’re thinking about getting a VA for your business. You aren’t quite sure if you want to spend the money or whether it will be worth it. 

    So you start asking other people what it’s like to have a VA and what they recommend. Because everybody will have a different VA and for different types of tasks and they will have totally different expectations of their VA compared to you.

    Opinions can be a handy but subjective guide – take them as information and not gospel. As the expert in your own life, only you know what you want and need, why, and what your expectations are.

    The same goes with software. People often ask me which CRM they should use, which mail program they should use, and I just say do the free trials and see which one works best for you. That’s what I do, because some of the most popular software doesn’t gel with me and my learning style, but you can only know that if you do a trial. 

    3. Trust Yourself 

    People are often researching and polling and getting opinions because they lack trust in themselves. Remember that you are your best investment. If you want to be light, respected, trusted, and invested in you and you need to do these things for yourself.

    Start to trust yourself. Do you research, get opinions, but make your own decisions for your own reasons. 

    Know that you will make mistakes along the way, but they can use this to tweak and find tune your decisions to get the best outcome anyway

    Nobody else is you. Only you are you. Back yourself, and you will find that other people back you too. 

    As you can see, to make decisions easier on yourself, you are going to need to pull back from a few things, and let go of achieving. When you can tap into your courage you will bypass the overwhelm and you can try, and adjust as you go and learn. 

    It takes courage to do certain things in your life. And that’s really what we are talking about here.

    4. Make a Plan

    In my experience, every time you get decision fatigue and feel overwhelmed, you can get past that by making a plan. 

    Even if you plan to make a decision by a certain date, at least that is defining a hard stop.

    Plan to spend a certain amount of time doing research. Plan to spend a certain amount of time asking opinions if you need to do that too.

    Plan where and when you might do a trial of some sort. 

    You will have your next steps mapped out clearly and will know exactly what to do and when. You can even ask for help to get those things done, once you have the steps written out and scheduled.

    Summary 

    Today, I talked about how easy it is to feel overwhelmed and to become stuck with decisions or taking action. I have discussed four ways to bust common decision blockers, according to Lisa Sasevich and myself.

    1. Do just enough research
    2. Stop seeking opinions 
    3. Trust yourself
    4. Make a plan

    For this to work, you’ll need to take action.

    You might like to write out these four steps, as a reminder of what to do and how to do it. You might like to put in place a timeslot every week to make a plan for things that you need to make decisions on that week.

    Also, you might like to create some sort of a decision matrix to help you make decisions and take action in the moment. 

    Ready to get clarity on your pathway to success?

    Understanding who you are and what you need will allow your business to thrive! If you’re truly ready to break old habits and get out of the rut I encourage you to check out the Habitology membership.

    Learn more here:

    Learn More
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    Episode 91: Being Authentic

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    If you want to be more authentic, there are three things you need to do – create courage, be honest and act with integrity.

    Nearly everyone I speak to wants to be more authentic. Authenticity is something most people value, and it is a key part of building strong personal and professional relationships.

    But what does being authentic mean, and what does it involve?

    I created this episode to help you understand what being authentic really means, the squeamish parts of being authentic, and the three things you need to do to start being more authentic.

    What is Authenticity?

    Authenticity means being yourself. It’s when your actions and words are congruent with your beliefs and values.

    The VIA Institute on Character describes authenticity with this statement:

    “I am honest to myself and others, I try to present myself and my reactions accurately to each person, and I take responsibility for my actions.”

    VIA Institute on Character 

    In other words, courage, honesty, and integrity are the three skills that create authenticity.

    Here’s an example of what being authentic looks like.

    One day I made a biriyani for dinner. My first one ever. We ate the meal and at the end, I asked my husband how he enjoyed it.

    He said, firmly but kindly, “I really appreciate the effort you went to in making dinner, but I would prefer not to have this again. I don’t really like it, but I’m glad you tried it and am thankful you took the time to make a lovely meal.”

    My first reaction was to feel deflated. He saw my face drop, and we talked about the importance of honesty.

    It turned out that he didn’t want to pretend to like a meal then lie to about it later. It would mean that I’d made it again, thinking he liked it, and he’d have to lie again. He might become frustrated, or resentful about that.

    It totally made sense to me, and I appreciated his honesty and courage and I could see that he was genuinely speaking with empathy and giving feedback from a place of love.

    This one conversation opened a whole new way of thinking and personal growth for me.

    It deepened our relationship and helped me to examine my own beliefs, thoughts and actions about honesty and integrity.

    It helped me to identify the skills that I wanted to develop, so I could be more authentic.

    As you can see it might be easy to assume that authenticity just happens.

    But it doesn’t.

    It’s more than just appearing to say something nice, or honest. 

    Have you heard of the smell of fear? It’s a real thing. When we are afraid, we give off chemicals that send a warning to others.

    If you have any fears, doubts or lack conviction in your beliefs and values, or are ‘faking it’ or hiding something, then you will be given away by your body chemistry, posture, tone of voice and facial expressions. Your body will contradict your so-called authenticity. 

    Have you ever heard people say one thing and seen them do another?

    Or have you ever had the sense that someone was lying to you?

    How did that feel? 

    And how did that affect your opinion of that person?

    Authenticity is a wonderful thing but the fact is, being authentic can be challenging.

    That’s because being authentic means that you need to be honest, to speak up for yourself, to voice an opinion, perhaps to be vulnerable, to expose something or to face a challenge.

    Being authentic often requires us to develop certain skills, like courage.

    If building relationships is important in your business and life, then it will serve you to improve your authenticity skills.

    Let’s look at the three main skills of being authentic.

    Courage

    In interpersonal relationships, it’s courage that allows you to name what is happening to raise awareness, acceptance and understanding.

    It’s when you can express observations, feelings, needs and requests and to shake up the status quo without offending, violating, blaming, shaming, or demeaning others.

    For example: I don’t like it when you do X, it makes me feel Y. I would like it if you didn’t do that around me anymore.

    If you have been in a cycle of people pleasing, it can be hard to find the language of courage, especially knowing that the other person may feel sad, disappointed or angry.

    It’s about being able to stay on the right side of that fine line.

    And let’s be clear: people pleasing is dishonest because it usually involves pretending to be someone that you’re not to meet someone else’s needs. It involves putting your own feelings and needs aside.

    As you could guess, it takes courage to break out of that cycle and say no, or to be clear about what you will or won’t, can or can’t do.

    If you have been in a cycle of people pleasing, it can be hard to find the language of courage, especially knowing that the other person may feel sad, disappointed or angry.

    You will also need to learn to be ok with other people’s discomfort.

    But courage is a powerful skill that can transform your relationships and build personal integrity.

    I recommend that to build courage, you start with some small challenging situation in your life where you want to speak up for yourself or set a boundary, or a place in your business where you need to ‘show up’. 

    Choose something that is just a little uncomfortable.

    Then rehearse what you will say in that situation and how you will say it in a way that is calm, rational and non-judgemental.

    Then schedule that into your diary and do it. Reflect on how it felt. Reflect on what you learned.

    I promise you, if you do this one small thing, and do it regularly, you will build phenomenal courage, diplomacy, self-assurance and emotional balance.

    Honesty

    The second part of being authentic is being honest.

    Honesty goes hand in hand with courage.

    It means you are speaking the truth and more broadly, it means that you are presenting yourself in a genuine and sincere way, without pretence.

    The research shows that honesty achieves more than just trust and positive relationships – it also helps you to set more accurate goals – in other words, goals that reflect your true values and interests.

    When you set realistic goals, you can more easily achieve them, and this in turn builds self-confidence.

    Honesty can be challenging because we are often afraid of the consequences; of hurting other people’s feelings, or of letting others down.

    The most important thing you can be, though, is honest with yourself. If you aren’t happy about something, or if you are living out of alignment with what you believe in, then it’s going to create more tension within you than if you lie to protect the feelings of others.

    This is worth thinking about.

    And the truth is, if people can’t handle your honest and tactful truth, spoken diplomatically, then they are probably not your people.

    Integrity

    The third part of being authentic is integrity.

    Integrity is when you are who you say you are and act consistently across all areas of your life, rather than behaving differently around different people.

    Integrity is when you live your life in alignment with your values, morals and ethics.

    It’s been described as ‘doing the right thing, even when no-one is looking.’

    In other words, integrity is a personal choice.

    And it is a choice that builds confidence, courage, and authenticity.

    Here’s why.

    When you live with integrity, you never have to question yourself or doubt yourself. You are doing what you know is right for you. 

    And when you take responsibility and are accountable for your actions, other people will trust you and respect you.

    You become a role model and develop a positive reputation.

    I feel that it’s easier to forgive someone’s mistakes if they have integrity, because you know that they are coming from an authentic, honest place.

    Integrity directly impacts on your success in life because it improves your chance of promotion, leadership and attractiveness, generally.

    Right now, think about someone you know who seems to have a lot of integrity.

    How do you feel about that person?

    How much do you trust them?

    What is it specifically that causes you to feel this way about them?

    You can hone your integrity by being clear on your core values, your decisions and by developing your strengths.

    For example, if your strongest values are around family, community, contribution, love and responsibility, then it makes sense that you will cultivate thoughts and actions that align with those values.

    In another example, if your strongest values are around achievement, competitiveness, courage, hard work and helping society, then it makes sense that you would cultivate thoughts and actions that align more with those values.

    Neither of those two people is better than the other, they are just different.

    But if person B presented to be family-oriented, but was more interested in creating ventures that helped communities, you would easily identify the incongruence between words and actions.

    Similarly, if person A said that they badly wanted to get promoted at work, they might secretly rather prefer to focus on their family and loved ones, and might not be able to get the promotion they say they want.

    As you can see, one of the foundations of being authentic is being self-aware.

    When you understand what your values are and what drives you, then it’s way easier to act congruently and to be authentic.

    When you take responsibility and are accountable for your actions, other people will trust you and respect you.

    Summary

    Being authentic is a wonderful way to build personal and business relationships, to feel fulfilled, and to follow your purpose.

    But it’s more than just saying certain things or acting in a way that impresses others.

    Being authentic requires three core skills; courage, honesty and integrity.

    When you are self-aware, and act consistently with your values across all areas of life, with honesty, you are well on the way to being authentic.

    Ready to be more authentic?

    When you understand what your values are and what drives you, then it’s way easier to act congruently and to be authentic. If you’re truly ready to break old habits and get out of the rut I encourage you to check out the Habitology membership.

    Learn more here:

    Learn More
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    Episode 84: Countering Anxiety

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    Let’s talk about how to identify the signs of anxiety, and some simple daily routines to counter anxiety so you can stay calm, focused and relaxed.

    Today I want to talk about staying calm and to talk through some tools you can use to dial down anxiety. 

    I feel pretty qualified to talk about this because I’ve had anxiety my whole life. I had anxiety as a small child as a teenager. As an adult it comes and goes, but I largely have a handle on it and I have used many tools to help me manage it.

    By the end of this episode I hope that you will have some useful tools to help you to tame the anxiety that you may feel from time to time and especially right now and, to know that you have so much power in you to do this.

    Stress versus anxiety

    The first thing I want to talk about is the difference between stress and anxiety.

    Stress often has a root cause – it is a response to a perceived threat. Anxiety may be a reaction to stress, but it may also have no root cause. Anxiety may be a sense of heightened tension or persistent feeling of apprehension.

    Some of the signs of stress include low energy, headaches, upset stomach, aches and pains, heart palpitations, loss of libido, chest pain, skin rashes, insomnia, and frequent colds and infections.

    According to Beyond Blue, there are three types of anxiety symptoms.

    Physical symptoms could include panic attacks, hot and cold flushes, racing heart, tightening chest, quick breathing, restlessness, feeling wound up and edgy.

    Psychological symptoms could include excessive fears, worry, catastrophizing or obsessive thinking.

    Behavioural symptoms could include avoiding situations that cause anxiety.

    You may have a genetic predisposition to anxiety, but aside from that, anxiety is largely caused by our thinking patterns. 

    The thing about anxiety is that if you have lived with it a long time, you may not be aware of it or how it’s showing up in your body, your mind or your life – because it feels normal to be anxious.

    Now let’s talk briefly about what creates anxiety and what the impact of that may be.

    I don’t really want to dwell on this too much but just to say enough about it that you can tell for yourself whether anxiety is something that you need to be dealing with and resolving.

    What causes anxiety?

    You may have a genetic predisposition to anxiety, but aside from that, anxiety is largely caused by our thinking patterns. 

    So if you have a racing mind, or a lot of worries, then you may feel overwhelmed or have a sense that you have a loss of control.

    You may find yourself ruminating on things or catastrophizing about things. This can happen at any time but it often likes to pop up at 3 o’clock in the morning when you can’t sleep and suddenly your head is full of busy stuff.

    Some people may not be that attuned to those things because it’s normal for you so you don’t notice that there is anything unusual or super challenging – maybe you think that’s just how life is. 

    I first noticed anxiety as nail biting, picking the skin on my fingers, endlessly twirling my hair, nervous twitches, shallow rapid breathing and an inability to sit still.

    In fact one of the hardest things for an anxious person is to sit still because then we are left alone with our thoughts and our difficult emotions so we prefer to be moving all of the time. 

    You may also find yourself reaching for alcohol, chocolate, crunchy foods, savoury foods or caffeine to try and manage your energy and your emotions.

    None of this is helpful, so let’s talk about counter anxiety because I think this is where the joy is for us.

    How to Counter Anxiety

    Since anxiety largely starts in your brain, in your mind, and there’s so much movement and energy around it, then the general principles to counter anxiety are around three things:

    1. slowing down 
    2. single tasking and 
    3. being more mindful.

    Here are some ideas to get you thinking about how you can introduce more slowness and stillness and presence into your life in a way that feels safe, comfortable and calm.

    It’s really important that you start your day off right in a calm, slow leisurely way. 

    Right now I invite you to think about what would create that for you. 

    It may involve swapping a caffeinated drink for a non-caffeinated drink. It might be about having breakfast with some protein in it to balance your blood sugar.

    It might be about including some movement at the start of the day where you are able to become present and mindful, which could involve a walk, some rhythmic movement in nature like swimming or surfing, or being in the garden. 

    For some people it’s meditation or yoga to create that calm mental energy that allows you to be focused and level headed as you start your day.

    In terms of getting through your day, I think the key part of managing anxiety is to just take on a bare minimum of things that you need to get done. 

    This means leaving plenty of time to do each task, with plenty of white space in your diary. 

    Maybe for you that is three things a day for five things a day or one thing a day. You need to experiment to find what your sweet spot is.

    Because my work involves a lot of coaching conversations and a bit of teaching, I have worked out that my capacity is about five sessions per day. I’ve realised that if I’m feeling a bit tired or stressed then I will block out a day and reschedule my appointments because I won’t be showing up as my best I calmest to those sessions. 

    If I’m feeling rushed or going too fast then it affects the quality of the conversations that I’m having and it limits my ability to truly listen to people.

    It has taken a lot of discipline for me to do one thing at a time, but it’s been worth it.

    As you can tell the good part of this is about setting boundaries that are realistic and healthy so that you can do what you need to do and feel calm by the end of the day. 

    People often ask me how I manage to get so much done and it is simply because I am calm, I don’t take on too much and I finish things as I go. 

    It’s been hard to get into that routine but it’s been so worth it for me.

    I used to multi-task and it has taken a lot of discipline for me to do one thing at a time, but it’s been worth it.

    I now expect less of myself, which lowers my anxiety, and I actually get more done.

    In the evening, I find that being organised with meal prep is really helpful for staying calm and eating slow, relaxed meals. To achieve that, I spend about 2 hours on a Sunday night making up some delicious salads and proteins for lunch and thinking about what dinner will involve, depending on my evening work commitments.

    Before bed, I like to spend time reading a book to help me wind down and empty my mind, but I might also have a long chat with my husband or take some time to simply stare into space and think of nothing.

    There is a great book that I recommend called the Practicing Mind by Thomas M Sterner, which covers a lot of these principles. It’s been a game changer for me.

    Summary

    Some of us are wired for anxiety and we may be in the habit of creating anxiety with our repetitive daily thought patterns.

    But there are a range of things you can do to slow down, simplify and stay mindful, so that you can counter anxiety and remain calm and focused.

     

    Ready to counter anxiety?

    There are things you can do to slow down, simplify and stay mindful. If you’re truly ready to break old habits and get out of the rut I encourage you to check out the Habitology membership.

    Learn more here:

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    Episode 75: Confidence in Your Coaching Business

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    Here are two things you must do if you want to succeed in your new coaching business – and measuring your numbers isn’t necessarily one of them.

    Today’s episode is the second half of an important topic – confidence in your coaching business.

    In episode 74 we talked about confidence in your modality and also in your own skills as an important foundation – so please go back and listen to that one. 

    That’s a segue into today’s topic.

    It’s one thing to feel confident as a coach, but running a business is a whole different ball game, especially if you have only ever been an employee, and never run a business on your own.

    So today I want to talk to you about how to grow confidence in your business skills.

    Confidence in Your Business Skills

    I want to start by busting a myth.

    A lot of business coaches talk about how important it is to know your numbers. 

    That means things like how many people are clicking on your email links, how many people are visiting your website, how many people signed up for your webinars, what the conversion rate is, and so on.

    Too many coaches and wellness practitioners set goals around a certain number of clients and give up within a month or two if they don’t hit those numbers.

    I want to challenge that for brand new business owners and say that getting fixated on the numbers can be a huge confidence killer for a new business owner.

    Why?

    Because when you start out, you are still figuring out your strengths. You are still figuring out your niche. 

    You are trying to work out who your clients are, what they want, and how best to give it to them. 

    You are finding your voice in the public arena and working out what you stand for.

    You are testing, experimenting, and trying different things to see what suits you and your style. You might not yet be sure about which business model you will use.

    When you start out, you are still figuring out your strengths. You are still figuring out your niche. 

    And while it’s useful to measure how many people are responding to you – ask yourself – what do those numbers really mean if you are chopping and changing your messages, forums, platforms and topics during this early experimental phase?

    The answer is – nothing. 

    It’s like comparing apples with oranges.

    So if you put too much emphasis on the numbers in your business, you may do more harm than good, and end up eroding your confidence rather than building it.

    How do you build confidence in your business skills?

    You might remember in the last episode that I mentioned our brains want proof of something before they believe it is true, or possible. 

    But it’s hard to get proof in advance when you are totally new to something, like running a business!

    Here are two things you can do to give your brain that sense of confidence.

    1. Get help to create a solid strategic plan

    The simple answer is to get help to create a solid strategic plan in your first year of business.

    This is your framework for experimenting to see what works, to work out YOUR best way of doing business, and create a regular, organised and intentional work plan.

    If you are new to running a business you will definitely need help to create this plan.

    But that is your framework for moving forward and having a plan helps you to build confidence in your business and that you have a pretty good path to follow.

    2. Measure your commitment to take consistent action

    Measuring things is a great way to see progress.

    If you are new in business, the true measure of your business acumen is your ability to consistently take action. 

    Your commitment to consistent action, no matter what, is actually what builds confidence in your business. 

    That’s because taking action no matter what indicates that you have grit, courage, persistence, strength and determination.

    Having those traits feel good, and empowering.

    They are all qualities of confident people and confident business owners.

    And the stronger those traits, the more resilience you will have to experiment with things and not take any failures personally.

    You will be better equipped to manage your emotions and be logical, factual and realistic.

    And in a new business there is a LOT to experiment with.

    You will be experimenting with business processes and tools, coaching techniques, session plans, number of sessions, trying different sorts of questions, what type of client to look for, where they are, whether you’re going to market online or offline, which social media channel to use, how best to have conversations with people, how to plan effectively, how to create offers that attract clients, how to pull together coaching programs and what clients want in their coaching programs. 

    Some things will work and some will fail.

    Some things will feel right and others won’t.

    Your brain wants proof of success. But you can’t know the exact formula for any of this in advance. 

    At least while you are figuring out how to run a business, succeeding and failing along the way, you can create a consistent, stable platform of action-taking so that you can build confidence in your ability to run a business.

    Then, when you’ve been in your business for a year and have worked out YOUR way of doing business, you can start looking more at the numbers and results. 

    But in the beginning, I encourage you to focus on measuring your ability to follow your plans and process – because when you get that process right, you will succeed. 

    Summary

    In summary, know that you are experimenting with so many things right now, so the numbers don’t mean that much. 

    When you learn to take action no matter what, you are actively cultivating a growth mindset, the behaviours of a self-confident person, resilience, capacity and self-motivation.

    What is more confidence-building is 

    1. To get help to create a strategic plan as the roadmap for your business and,
    2. To take consistent action toward your plan, problem solving and tweaking along the way, with the support of someone with the right skills and experience. 

    When you learn to take action no matter what, you are actively cultivating a growth mindset, the behaviours of a self-confident person, resilience, capacity and self-motivation.

    Those are the secret formula for your business success.

    Ready to grow confidence in your business?

    A plan and a growth mindset can go a long way! If you’re truly ready to break old habits and get out of the rut I encourage you to check out the Habitology membership.

    Learn more here:

    Learn More

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    Episode 74: Confidence in Your Coaching Skills

    Listen Now

    If you want to build confidence in your coaching skills, quickly and effectively, you need to start doing these things right now.

    I have been having lots of conversations lately with graduate coaches about their levels of confidence around their coaching and their ability to run a business.

    So I decided to create this episode – dedicated to you new coaches or wellness practitioners out there – about how to build confidence in your coaching business.

    When I say confident coaching business, I mean that you feel confident in your modality, in your skills, and about your business. We are going to cover these things in TWO podcast episodes because it’s a big juicy topic.

    Today, we are going to focus on confidence in your modality and your coaching skills.

    The NEXT episode will cover confidence in your business skills.

    Before we dive in, I want to share one of the most important lessons that I’ve learnt in life.

    It’s simply this – if you feel confident about what you’re doing or selling, then it is extremely convincing, magnetic and compelling to other people.

    Here’s proof. Think about someone you know who is self-confident. 

    How inspired do you feel around that person? 

    Would you trust their opinion or advice? 

    Now, think about somebody that you know who is confident in running their business. 

    Do you look up to them? 

    Are they a role model for you?

    When you are confident in who you are and what you do, you can sell anything – no matter what it is. Your unwavering belief and confidence is highly magnetic and highly attractive. It’s the secret of effective marketing!

    That’s why feeling confident in your coaching will help you to build a powerful business.

    Now let’s explore three areas in more depth: feeling confident in what you do (your modality), feeling confident about your skills in that area.

    Confidence in What You Do

    Let’s start by talking about your confidence in what you do – that is, in your profession. 

    Even if you don’t have much experience in your field as a coach or wellness practitioner, you will likely have great confidence in the modality that you use. 

    When you are confident in who you are and what you do, you can sell anything – no matter what it is.

    You probably have great confidence in the power of that modality to truly help people make change, to become healthier, calmer, less anxious and more at peace.

    That’s a really important starting point. Because if you lack confidence in your abilities, at least you know that your modality is effective and you believe in that – and you can learn and improve your skills.

    If you feel confident in what you do, congratulations, that’s great! 

    If you don’t believe in what you’re doing then your commitment, confidence in your abilities and your ability to sell it are going to be virtually zero.

    I’ve had this experience myself. I joined a network marketing business many years ago and they introduced new product lines that I didn’t like.

    Because I didn’t believe in many of their new products, I found it harder and harder to sell those products because it didn’t feel authentic and aligned. I had to quit that organisation within a year of joining.

    That taught me a valuable lesson – simply, that I must believe in what I do in order to be good at it and be able to sell it.

    So I invite you to step back and look at the big picture of what you do for a moment – your modality – and consider how effective that modality is. 

    Consider what happens when experienced practitioners use that modality. Think about the results that their clients have achieved. 

    The upshot of this is, even if you have had few or no clients yourself, really get clear on how much you believe in your modality as an effective tool to help people. 

    It’s a great point of focus if you are new as a coach/practitioner, and/or in your business, because at least you believe in the power of what you do!

    To help you boost your confidence and get rid of doubt, you may like to include a focus on the benefits and possible outcomes of your modality as part of your pre-session ritual, to truly get connected to the value of what you do.

    Confidence in Your Ability as a Coach

    The next thing to talk about is building confidence in your own ability as a coach or practitioner. 

    You will need to take a slightly longer view because it takes time to develop skills and competence in ANY area of life.

    Let’s face it, you can’t study a year of piano theory and step onto the stage as a concert pianist, having never done that before, right?

    The thing with confidence in your ability is that you need to find evidence for your BRAIN. That’s because our brains want evidence that something is true before truly believing it. 

    I recommend that you listen to my previous podcast #73 where I talked about how your inner critic can get you stuck in a negative thought loop that your brain will eventually turn into a belief!

    If you think that you’re no good and focus on that then your brain will find evidence to support that. And if you think you could develop confidence and skills and are curious about that, then your brain will find evidence for that instead. 

    So focusing on how you could develop skills or become a better coach, or to acknowledge what is working well, is way better training for your brain.

    This raises the question – how can you help your brain to get the evidence that it needs to believe that you’re good at what you’re doing or at least competent – so that you can start to feel more confident in your skills and abilities?

    Our brains want evidence that something is true before truly believing it. 

    In my role as a Coach Trainer for a health and wellness coaching school, I explain a few different ways for student coaches to that can quickly and effectively build confidence. 

    These ways revolve around mindfulness, self-awareness, reflection and acknowledging success. These are things that don’t come naturally to most of us, so it’s important that we develop these skills as part of our personal and professional development – and to help us become more confident as coaches.

    I want to share FIVE ways that you can become a more confident coach or practitioner.

    You may want to write these down, so you can set some goals around these things and weave them into your schedule.

    #1 – The first thing to do DO IT – to actually coach – with practice clients – until you start feeling confident enough to do paid sessions. 

    Find anyone with a pulse who you like and who is willing to change. Do two or three sessions with them just to get the feel of coaching and using the skills. 

    Don’t worry about ongoing sessions or continuity in the beginning – just use the sessions to become familiar and comfortable with your methodology and running a coaching session.

    That leads me to the second point.

    #2 – When you work with clients, make sure that you choose people that you have good chemistry with and who are ready to change. 

    If you don’t have a good personality fit with your client or if they’re ambivalent or a bit resistant to change, or just trying to do a favour, then your session with them will likely feel difficult or uncomfortable and you will probably question your own ability.

    By all means experiment with different kinds of clients and personalities so you can see who fits best, but be mindful that not everyone will be the right client for you – and that this is NOT a reflection of your skills as a coach.

    It’s a fact of life – we tend to attract certain types of people and not others. That’s one reason why only certain people will want to work with you, and why it’s worth targeting a niche.

    I learned about client chemistry the hard way. 

    I was running my coaching business and had somebody else selling clients into my program. 

    After a while, I realised that I felt drained and tired when I was walking into those sessions. I started to doubt my ability as a coach. And I was ready to quit. Fed up. Disheartened.

    THEN I reflected on the facts and realised that I had exceptional rapport with certain clients AND that they were getting the best outcomes. It was then that I realised I needed to target a niche and find my ideal client so that my work was always energizing. 

    It is valuable to work with different types of people in the beginning to figure out who your people are – but be aware that the differences in your personalities or learning styles and how that may affect your confidence in your skills. 

    What do you think that means for a new graduate coach or practitioner? If their client seems difficult, they will likely start blaming themselves for their poor skills. I’ve seen it a hundred times, and it’s the absolute wrong thing to do. 

    If you DO find yourself feeling uncomfortable about a client, please simply step back and acknowledge them as a person with their own challenges that they are responsible for, and know that your job is to hold space and work with them in a way that they need. 

    Your job is not to fix them but to be there for them and support them and to help them find their own solutions. Better still, start becoming more selective about who you work with and choose people that you have great chemistry.

    That’s a really organic process for finding your niche and ideal client, loving your work and to rapidly build confidence and capacity as a coach or practitioner.

    #3 – The third way to build confidence in your coaching skills is to start reflecting on your own performance. 

    When you graduate, you no longer have a teacher supporting you and guiding you in the use of your skills. You’re on your own. Developing your own feedback loop is therefore an essential part of your professional development.

    Do a post session reflection and fill in your coaching log. 

    This is an essential professional development practice that can raise self awareness, identify your strengths, and find areas that need sharpening up.

    #4 – the fourth way to build confidence is to get feedback from your clients. There are a few types of feedback that you can get in a session. 

    • You can get non-verbal cues from your client.

    Watch their body language through the session with you. Do they become more open? Do they seem more relaxed? Does their energy or excitement build?. 

    These are all non-verbal cues that indicate your client is growing and getting something important out of the session with you. 

    • You can ask your clients for feedback at the end of each session.

    Build it into your session close to ask what they learnt about themselves and if they have any feedback on the coaching. What you’ll find is that clients are usually so thankful and grateful for your listening or the realisation they had. 

    Many new graduate coaches I speak to think that listening to someone doesn’t have any value and isn’t worth anything but when you hear your clients expressing their heartfelt gratitude for your holding space you’ll start to really see how valuable it is for the client and that’s what this is all about-them.

    • Ask clients to complete a written survey at the end of their whole coaching program asking them what they liked, didn’t like, what changed, and how they changed, and what their next goals are.

    This will give you a LOT of information about the entire process as well as your skills, and about their own openness to change, commitment and self-responsibility.

    #5 – The fifth way to build confidence in your coaching ability is to help your client measure and monitor changes they experience on a week by week basis. 

    Monitoring and measuring could include the assessment of weekly goals using percent success for each goal,  it could also include physical measurements that they may take such as number of steps or 1 to 10 scales for stress or energy. 

    Anything that they are physically recording and seeing changes in is giving you evidence that your process your methodology and your skills and their readiness to change a facilitating shifts that have value to the client. And all of these give you ongoing evidence that will help you to build confidence in your coaching skills. 

    The caveat for this one is that some clients struggle to change due to their own beliefs or past trauma that have nothing to do with your skill. It may simply mean that their challenges are outside your scope and referral is required.

    Summary

    The way to build confidence in your coaching ability is to actually do it. 

    We discussed two ways to build confidence.

    1. Start with confidence in your modality. 

    It will help your brain and your mindset to focus on the positives that your qualification or modality can create. 

    Look to experienced practitioners in your industry and observe your role models to validate that what you’re doing is effective and credible.

    2. Build confidence in your coaching ability by coaching, and collecting feedback.

    The five ways to do this included:

    1. Start coaching people now and start learning from that. Get comfortable with a couple of free sessions with a client, then work up to a series of sessions with paying clients.
    2. Work with clients you have good chemistry with.
    3. Create your own feedback loop – your coaching log.
    4. Get client body language, verbal feedback in a session, and written feedback at the end.
    5. Help your client measure and monitor change as evidence that ‘it worked’.

    Just like playing the piano, you can only become good at coaching by actually doing it.

    Ready to sell your service with confidence?

    Feeling confident in your coaching will help you to build a powerful business. If you’re truly ready to break old habits and get out of the rut I encourage you to check out the Habitology membership.

    Learn more here:

    Learn More
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    Episode 73: The Three Best Ways to Build Self-Confidence

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    Do you really wish you were more self confident but aren’t sure where or how to start?

    Then this episode is just for you.

    Self-confidence is a skill that anyone can learn.

    And I want to walk through three things that you can do to start building self-confidence, so you can show up and be more powerful in your own life and in the world.

    What is Self-Confidence?

    A  nice simple definition of self-confidence is to be secure in yourself and your abilities.

    I believe self-confidence comes from three things; trust, a sense of competence and your ability to value yourself. 

    You may like to go back and listen to Episode 72 for more information on developing Unwavering Self-Confidence.

    Why would you want to become self-confident?

    Well, there are lots of great reasons.

    When you are self-confident, you can handle your emotions better.

    You will feel more in control of yourself and your life. 

    You will become more self-reliant, which means you can make better decisions for yourself, trust your own instincts and look after yourself better.

    When you’re self-confident, you will probably speak to yourself more kindly and be a happier person who achieves what they want in life.

    It sounds like a great place to be, doesn’t it? 

    So, how do you get there?

    The Shy Little Rabbit

    I would like to share my own experience of developing self-confidence as it may be relevant to you.

    As a small child, I was what you would call painfully shy. 

    What I mean by that at adult parties I would be terrified of playing with other kids or even speaking to other kids, so I would sit next to my mum all night while she spoke to the adults and I would enviously stare at all the children having fun around me. 

    At primary school, I didn’t raise my hand in class even though I knew the answer because I was terrified of being wrong or being judged. 

    As a teenager I was uncomfortable about who I was and having any attention paid to me so I sat quietly at school and had just a couple of close friends because I didn’t feel confident enough to join in with social groups and activities that my peers were involved in. 

    And when it came to my first serious dinner date with a new boyfriend, I was so self-conscious about having him see me eating that I struggled to eat much of anything at all.

    Through my growing up years, I wasn’t secure in myself, I doubted my abilities and I found it hard to value myself or my opinion.

    I struggled at job interviews in my 20’s, and I feared judgement in social circles so was never willing to put forward an opinion or take a stand for anything.

    So a lot of the time I sat on the sidelines.

    I was a watcher; a listener, a passenger on the bus.

    But I felt that life was passing me by and that I was capable of so much more and helping so many more people – if only I had the self-confidence!

    Does any of this resonate with you?

    Have you felt like this before?

    Fast forward to today and I am confidently and competently running my own successful business.

    I am a contract coach trainer for Australia’s leading Coach Training organisation. I’m very comfortable on camera, doing Facebook lives, and in any sort of public speaking event. 

    In the past few years, I’ve danced in a troupe in front of 10,000 people on stage, performed in various concerts, and have presented at local and international conferences with ease and confidence.

    These days, I trust myself, back myself and I recognise what I am capable of. 

    I’d like to share three things that I have done to help me develop self-confidence.

    1 – Change your self-talk and thinking patterns

     

    The most powerful thing you can do to build self confidence is to change the way you talk to yourself and to observe and start to change your automatic thinking patterns. 

    I didn’t know about the power of changing your self-talk when I was growing up, but I really wish I had started there because I would have become self confident far more quickly & easily.

    The reason self-talk and thinking patterns are so powerful is that most of our thoughts are unconscious, and negative.

    I believe that as a society we tend to condone the behaviour of self-deprecation, of de-valuing our efforts or diminishing ourselves in front of others. 

    People call it being humble. But I disagree and I really want to challenge this paradigm.

    The dictionary definition of the word humble is “having or showing a modest or low estimate of one’s importance.”

    But the VIA Institute on character has a more accurate definition of humility as a character strength. 

    They say a common misconception is that humility involves low self-esteem and worthiness or a lack of self-focus. 

    But true humility means that you can accurately assess your own skills, you can recognise your limitations, you can keep your accomplishments in perspective and you’re not distorting any part of your own image, representing yourself and your capabilities accurately.

    True humility means that you can accurately assess your own skills, you can recognise your limitations, you can keep your accomplishments in perspective.

    So back to the concept of self-talk and thinking patterns.

    It’s as simple as this: if you are thinking accurate, factual and positive thoughts about yourself and your abilities, you will develop self-confidence.

    If you are criticising yourself, doubting your abilities or judging yourself, you will create self-doubt.

    Thoughts are just statements that, when repeated, become your beliefs.

    So how do you change your self-talk and thinking patterns?

    The first step is to start watching your thoughts and noticing how you talk to yourself, and what you are thinking about yourself.

    The next step is to replace any negative or unhelpful thoughts into something factual and non judgemental.

    For example, if you catch yourself thinking something like “I can’t do this”, then you could change that thought into a question, like “what do I need to learn so I can do this?”.

    Since our thoughts are largely unconscious and automatic, it is really helpful if you work with a coach to uncover your hidden thoughts, and to learn how to self coach as we do in my membership.

    2 – Set and Achieve Stretch Goals

    You probably would agree that a lot of people start with action rather than thought because they’re not aware of the impact of thought work, or perhaps they think that actions are easier to start with.

    We see it everywhere: people tend to start with a gym membership, or a diet, or some other sort of action rather than examining the thoughts and motivators that drive those actions. 

    Before I had any awareness of the power of my mind I would use stretch goals to help me do things that I lack confidence to do otherwise. 

    I didn’t know that by changing my thinking I could develop more self belief more quickly and I wish I had started there, because I would have managed failure a lot better and become stronger and more resilient. 

    In any case, I learned that if I dug deep and found courage, and took action despite my fear, then I felt good about what I was achieving. 

    The added bonus for me was that taking physical action gave me tangible proof that I had some sort of skill or ability or confidence to do something, and the sense of accomplishment felt more real.

    So while it’s important to change your self-talk, it’s equally important to set and achieve stretch goals.

    Here are a few of the bigger stretch goals that I have done through the years. 

    They mostly involve being in the public eye somehow, I think because I found it harder to back out of something and perhaps a little more of an accomplishment to put yourself out there.

    • At high school; volunteered to do a role play with two other students in Year 11 English class (I got a standing ovation! LOL)
    • On a Bali holiday, I was asked to do catwalk modeling of locally made leather clothes at a big tourist party and saw this would be good for developing posture and presence.
    • At university, I did a presentation on my honours project at an International Wetlands Conference with an audience of around 300 people (scary – but a way to build credibility and hone my speaking skills)
    • After my honours year, I put my name down to be a first year student tutor (a paid role) which involved me teaching cell biology and animal biology to classes of 25 – 40 students at a time. This taught me agility. 
    • From the age of 25 onwards, I started presenting my research and findings at environmental conferences in front of audiences of 100+ people
    • When I was 27, my boyfriend at the time and I rode motorcycles from Perth to Cairns, through the desert. I had three months to get my license and learn how to ride off road.
    • When I was 27, I became a company Director and Manager in our business.
    • When I was 28, I danced in a troupe in front of 10,000 people at the Perth Entertainment Centre on Australia Day.
    • When I was 38, I went for a Guinness World Record for the longest bellydance shimmy at a local health expo and was promoted in local and interstate media.

    These are just examples and they may be bigger goals than you might like to stretch for. For me, these gave me a sense of validation and external feedback, of proof in the world that my goal was real, and a more tangible sense of accomplishment.

    Right now you might be asking, what should my stretch goal be?

    I will say that what’s most important is that you work where you are now. 

    Challenge yourself to the level that is comfortable for you and will guarantee your success.

    If you set goals that are a stretch, but winnable, you will build confidence. If you aim too high and fail, it may be an emotional setback.

    Maybe your stretch goal would be to strike up a conversation with someone. 

    Maybe it’s to ask for a raise, or to have a sales conversation.

    Maybe your stretch goal is to say no to that second scoop of ice cream.

    Decide on 2 – 3 goals that are meaningful for you – one action you will take each week for the next three weeks – and notice what happens.

     3 – Intentionally recognise success

    The third part is so important.

    Our modern epidemic is constantly striving for more, for greater expectations, without recognising how much we have done already and what our capacity is.

    I call this the Pattern of Pursuit, and it’s a habit that I recommend you break.

    My definition of the Pattern of Pursuit is when you are constantly achieving but not recognising your efforts, such that you feel not good enough because you are too busy doing and not taking the time to be, to reflect, and to acknowledge.

    Self-confident people have humility.

    And if you recall the earlier discussion on the VIA Character Institute’s definition of humility, it was being able to accurately assess and represent yourself and your capabilities.

    You can only do this if you reflect on and acknowledge what you have achieved.

    Further, every time you recognise your achievements, such as accomplishing your stretch goals, it generates a sense of self-confidence.

    What I love most about intentionally recognising your success is that you learn to trust yourself and back yourself, and to value your own opinion and skills.

    When you do this, you stop worrying about whether you are good enough. You stop worrying about what other people are doing, whether you are keeping up, and whether they are judging you.

    You value your own opinion, and you start to become more self reliant, where you set your own internal standards and develop your own motivation to succeed.

    It’s powerful stuff.

    My favourite ways to recognise success are to:

    • Tick of tasks completed in a physical work diary
    • Monitor exercise, movement and standing on my Apple watch
    • Speak about accomplishments over dinner with my husband
    • Journal about achievements and goals.

    Summary

    To summarise, even the most timid little rabbit can become a self-confident person. 

    Self-confidence is simply a skill you can learn.

    The three easiest ways to build self confidence are:

    1. Watch and change your self-talk – through coaching, self-coaching or journalling
    2. To set and achieve stretch goals that are 100% winnable – start where you are now
    3. To use simple ways to measure and recognise your daily and weekly achievements.

    Challenge yourself to the level that is comfortable for you and will guarantee your success.

    If you would like to work on your self-confidence and master it, pop into the Habitology membership in February 2020 where we will be studying and self-coaching these important skills. 

    I’ve included the link in the notes for this episode.

    In the meantime, please comment below and let me know your favourite confidence-boosting technique. I’d love to hear all about it!

    Ready to build self confidence?

    Self confidence is so important when setting out to reach your potential. If you’re truly ready to break old habits and get out of the rut I encourage you to check out the Habitology membership.

    Learn more here:

    Learn More
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    Episode 72: Unwavering Self-Confidence

    Listen Now

    This episode is for you if you want to be more secure in yourself and your abilities, and to feel worthy, helpful and capable. We look at what self-confidence is and the basics of what you need to do to get it.

    Right now, imagine the feeling of having unwavering self-confidence. When I say unwavering, I mean steady, resolute and consistent.

    You are someone who is totally secure in yourself and your abilities. You trust yourself and your abilities completely – there is no second-guessing, and you are committed to taking action without needing to know all the steps required, or any promise that you will succeed.

    What would it be like to be a cool cat like that?

    How would self-confidence affect your relationships, your business, your job, your kids, your friends and your level of satisfaction and fulfilment with life?

    It’s really worth talking about self-confidence because it’s one of the keys to success, and it’s something that most people want – yet there is a bit of confusion about what it is, what it isn’t, and how much confidence you have.

    So that’s what I want to talk about in this episode.

    Let’s start by exploring what self-confidence can create in your life.

    Self-Confidence is a Key to Thriving

    According to research by Deci and Ryan (2002), confidence is one of three vital lifetime pursuits (the other two are learning/developing competence and applying strengths).

    You have probably heard of the saying that “like attracts like”.

    What this means is that if you are confident, you will tend to attract more positive and confident people, opportunities, clients and circumstances.

    Confidence is a strong predictor of success in all areas of life, from work performance through to creating new health habits.

    So, What is Self-Confidence?

    There are various definitions of self-confidence out there.

    But a simple one is this – self-confidence is your ability to be secure in yourself and your abilities. A self-confident person has thinking patterns about how worthy, helpful and capable they are. 

    So what are the elements of confidence?

    There are three things:

    1.     Backing yourself
    2.     Trusting yourself and
    3.     Having a healthy opinion of yourself.

    Backing yourself is mostly about courage. It means that you will take the risk of putting yourself or your ideas ‘out there’.

    Trusting yourself is mostly about your competence or self-efficacy. It means you believe that you have enough skills and know how to follow through and complete something.

    It means you will follow your plan and take responsibility for things, even if you are nervous, frightened, unsure or inexperienced.

    Trusting yourself is mostly about your competence or self-efficacy. It means you believe that you have enough skills and know how to follow through and complete something.

    Notice that I said complete, not achieve.

    Trust is not about results – it is about your faith that you have the ability and persistence to follow through.

    A healthy opinion of yourself is about your self-esteem or value. In other words, you feel good about yourself and have a realistic view of your value, and that you are deserving of success, respect and achievements.

    Henry Ford sums up confidence in his famous saying:

    “Whether you think you can, or you think you can’t, you’re right.’

    That being said, I want to myth bust some of the confusion around self-confidence and be really clear about what it isn’t.

    What isn’t Self-Confidence?

    When you hear the word self-confident, what comes to mind? Here are some words that are often associated with self-confidence, but which are actually nothing to do with it.

    Aggressive – this is being forceful.

    Aloof – cool and distant; uninvolved.

    Arrogant – this is thinking you are better than someone else.

    Assertive – the quality of being self-assured without being aggressive.

    Gregarious – fond of company, sociable.

    Happy – showing pleasure or contentment.

    Successful – accomplishing a desired result.

    These words are more likely based on your perspective, beliefs or judgement. 

    Please don’t confuse them with self-confidence. Being self-confident is none of these; it is capacity, capability and strength.

    The interesting thing about confidence is that you can be self-confident without any proof.

    When you have those three elements in place, you develop a self-confident attitude to life, and that’s what creates the results and life you want.

    The Attitude of Self-Confidence

    To develop self-confidence, you need to adopt a proactive attitude. That is, if I see it, I will believe it – rather than the other way around.

    Your attitude is that you don’t need certainty to take action and you are prepared to take calculated risks on the unknown. 

    We’re not talking about reckless behaviour – it’s about managing risks and being willing to be uncomfortable, knowing that growth is on the other side of that.

    Remember that self-confidence is about backing yourself, trusting yourself and having a healthy opinion of yourself.

    With that in mind, you can see that someone with an attitude of self confidence totally trusts themselves and the process – irrespective of the result.

    This is also known as a growth mindset.

    Let’s do a little test. I’m going to read out six statements now. Count how many you agree with and believe. 

    1. The why is more important than the how
    2. The steps will be revealed along the journey
    3. You need to persist and follow your plan even if you’re fearful
    4. You may need to change your plan, problem solve and be agile
    5. There is no failure, only feedback and learning
    6. Risk is a prerequisite for learning and growth.

    How many did you agree with? 

    Does this sound like you overall?

    The more of these statements you agree with, the more of a self-confident attitude you have.

    You are probably someone who is willing to give things a red hot go, to respond to feedback, and to problem solve so you can overcome setbacks. 

    You are willing to explore uncharted territory and go against the grain in order to succeed, if necessary. 

    You have a pioneering spirit. And, with a self-confident attitude, you an innate capacity to build self-confidence. But even if you don’t – you can build this attitude with a few simple techniques, which we will talk about in a coming episode.

    By now you probably have some idea about your own level of self-confidence.

    I want to ask you some questions now so that you can get clarity on what self-confidence means and feels like to you. 

    When have you felt self-confident?

    What did it feel like in your body, and where did you feel it?

    What were you thinking at the time?

    What were you able to do because you had self-confidence?

    What results did your self-confident action create?

    I’m sure you have felt self-confident at some time in your life. 

    Here’s what it feels like. It feels good, energizing, uplifting, optimistic and powerful.

    You feel unflappable, unstoppable. You have pose, and are calm, unshaken. You have a cool head, you are composed, have faith and are disciplined. 

    You take action because you believe in what you are doing, and your ability to do it.

    Does that sound familiar? If not, or if you want to feel more self-confident, you may need to do some work – and that is a topic for the next episode – a deep dive into building self-confidence.

    Summary

    Self-confidence is your ability to be secure in yourself and your abilities. A self-confident person has thinking patterns about how worthy, helpful and capable they are. 

    The elements of self-confidence are your ability to back yourself, trust yourself and have a healthy opinion of yourself.

    Remember that self-confidence is about backing yourself, trusting yourself and having a healthy opinion of yourself.

    When you have those three elements in place, you develop an attitude of self-confidence, that is unwavering, persistent and the basis of all your actions.

    We will talk about building self confidence in the coming episodes.

    But if you’d like to build unwavering self-confidence NOW, join the February intake of Habitology where we will study this important topic and implement the lessons into your life. 

    Visit https://www.melaniejwhite.com/habitology for more details or visit my contact page.

    Ready for unwavering self confidence?

    Having a healthy opinion of yourself can make all the difference. If you’re truly ready to break old habits and get out of the rut I encourage you to check out the Habitology membership.

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