I was still recovering from my mountain bike accident and was off the crutches but still in a brace and I was in a new and exciting stage in my life. One where I had the freedom and flexibility I’d only dreamed of until now. Albeit, coming off my mountain bike at 22k on a blind bend was not how I saw it happening.

I’d quit corporate London and I was running my own coaching business. Me, a business owner, who would have thought! There I was with a mission and purpose to serve and change lives, but there was one problem. My imposter syndrome was raging and I felt like the world’s best secret as a coach, struggling with so much self-doubt, worrying about how I was going to make a success of my business.

I let all my BS excuses stop me from growing my coaching business and they kept me stuck in a vicious cycle of going nowhere. Until I found another way and made the success of my business a non-negotiable and took massive action, even though it scared the hell out of me! In this week’s blog I’m going to challenge you to think another way and to lean into the belief that you can and will break the cycle of imposter syndrome.

As my mentor Denise Duffield-Thomas says, ‘it’s my time and I’m ready for the next step’. Well today my friend, it’s YOUR time and YOU are ready for the next step. Let me show you how!

Knowing and doing are two different things

Knowing what you need to do and doing it can be two very different things. The first part is the strategy (the knowing) and the second part is the mindset (the doing). You know in your head that you’re good at what you do and have the skills and abilities but when it comes to taking action you feel so much resistance and self-doubt around showing up and sharing what you have to offer.

If we all took action on the things that we knew we had to do to create a success of our business we’d be much further along in our business right now. Things such as weekly original content, regular lives, building community, building your email list, engaging with your audience, creating lead magnets that your ideal client would want to chew your right arm off for and selling your services!

Having been there myself, I know that the resistance to taking action is real, especially when your imposter syndrome is coming up with all the excuses…

👉People will see me as a fraud

👉I don’t want to draw attention to myself

👉I need to fix myself first before I take action

👉Everytime I go to do something I hesitate

👉It feels uncomfortable to promote myself

Are you tired of your self-doubt and imposter syndrome standing in the way of your dreams? Then my self-doubt survival guide will help ditch the self-doubt and attract more clients. Click HERE to grab your FREE copy today!

Letting go of your safety net

Imposter syndrome can feel like a safety net and can delay us from taking action and keeps us in a state of resistance. Although it’s the subconscious mind’s way of trying to protect us, equally it limits our growth and potential. It’s time to let go of the safety net and ditch the self-doubt and imposter syndrome!

My safety net when I first started out, feeling like a complete fraud and that I didn’t know enough, was to let go of my coaching aids. For me these were my ‘101 coaching questions’ booklet and other coaching questions that I thought would be great to ask. My imposter syndrome and the self-doubt that came with it wouldn’t allow me to let go of the structure of the GROW model (Goal | Reality | Options | Way Forward) and it was paralysing me!

By working with another coach she helped me recognise everything I’d achieved in my coaching business, but hadn’t given myself credit for. Working with her I soon began to realise that I didn’t need these coaching questions on demand, because after all coaching is largely about listening. Once I gave myself permission to let go of my safety net everything changed. I felt more confident, I showed up in a different way and had better coaching sessions with my clients.

I’m giving you permission to let go of your safety net, whatever that may look like. It may be an internal story you’re telling yourself or a pattern of self-sabotage i.e. procrastination. Take the time to discover what you’re using as your safety net and explore what it would look like if you gave yourself permission to be brave and let it go.

Practical vs Emotional

My best advice to you is to get clear on the practical steps you need to move your coaching business forward. Is it audience building / nurturing or creating an email list? Is it doing your first or next launch? Take some time to brain dump all the things you need to do in your business over the next quarter and then pick the top three that you’re going to focus on.

Now that you’ve addressed the practical, let’s look at the emotional. Below are just some of the things you can do to break free from self-doubt and ease that burden of imposter syndrome…

👉Visualise your future self as if you’ve already achieved your goals

👉Take the time to pay attention and recognise your achievements

👉Accept compliments and positive feedback from your clients

👉Make your goals non-negotiable and navigate your way through those uncomfortable feelings

👉Ask for help and talk about your feelings with a friend, family member or coach

These are just some of the ways that you can change the way you think and feel about yourself. However, if you’re looking for a deeper transformation and would like to get to the core of what is keeping you stuck, book in a FREE discovery call with me today. 

We’ll look at how I can best support you so that you can reach your income goals with confidence and self-belief without being held back by self-doubt and imposter syndrome. Remember, the world needs what you have to offer, it’s your job to show up so your clients can find you!