Truth and Dare

On some excellent advice from a brilliant coach (thank you Brooke Castillo), I have been daring myself to take action on my business daily. I choose a task that I know could prove helpful in getting the word out or making potential clients aware of what I’m up to, and then I think about what’s going on internally that’s keeping me from doing said task, including what I’m afraid of and how that makes me feel.

THEN I look at the whole thing again with the assumption of feeling confident. What would I need to think? What would that do for me? How would it change my action? What COULD the results be? It’s been really powerful. Some of that power, I think, likes in the simple act of reaching for something every day and having it written down as a commitment. I commit to do something just a little outside of my comfort zone every single day. There is power in simply deciding to DO.

Another part of the magic here, however, is in figuring out what I’d have to think in order to have the confidence to do these things that I think might help my business. As a result of going through this very conscious process, I have been reminding myself very intentionally of the things that I really DO believe about my business, but that get buried under self-doubt from time to time: “I have a lot to offer. My clients value the work we do together. People will recognize that value. People could benefit from my programs. I am proud of myself for what I’ve accomplished. This is a great program…” The list actually goes ON! There has been such power in this moment of consciously finding those thoughts and pulling them to the surface where they can do some good.

The last bit of magic in this whole truth and dare game I’ve got going with myself is at the very end, when I’ve completed the task in question. I’ve thought my thoughts. I’ve done the thing (sometimes with physical symptoms, but done it nonetheless). And when I have finished I invariably notice two things: 1) actually doing the task is never as scary as I make it out to be and 2) when I describe my business and my programs from a place of confidence and complete these tasks, I actually gain MORE confidence. I feel more legitimate. I feel more like I may actually achieve my goals professionally. This is both logically and emotionally true. I certainly have a better shot at doing well if I’m talking about what I do, but that chance can only be helped by the confidence that comes with consciously recognizing my own value and describing it to other adults. Confidence born in action taken from consciously created confidence. Whoa.

That’s really how it works, isn’t it. It’s not a fake it ’til you make it, because it’s all real, but it does sort of give some credence to that saying. If you don’t feel like you’re up to the job, the task, the dream, maybe you just need to think something different. And maybe you need to break that dream, task, job into tiny little discreet pieces that you can then consciously create enough confidence to achieve. What would you need to think in order to take a step towards something you REALLY, REALLY want? How could you consciously create the feeling that would help propel you through something scary or difficult? What’s holding you back? Are you sure it isn’t you?

If you know you’re holding back, but aren’t sure how to change that, I sure would love to help.