I find the mind fascinating. I’m not good on the medical terms or anything like that, it’s more the psychological side of things that I find quite mind blowing.
Apparently we’re the only species on the planet that has self doubt, can talk ourselves out of things and generally has a kick boxing session with our own confidence.
Many people know that they are put on the planet to do or achieve something; whether it’s climbing a mountain, caring for the less able or fortunate, providing a service to help others or help in nurturing our planet and where we live.
Most small business owners that I know have started their businesses because they found their niche in life; using their talents to offer something other people need to meet a need or solve an issue.
However even though they know this, often it’s a roller-coaster ride of emotions starting with the excitement of starting the business, then perhaps the wobbling confidence of where the clients will come from, asking is it too expensive, should I offer everything to everyone or just pick a certain audience to speak to?
All this confusion is only aided by the little chimp or parrot that sits in our shoulder talking to us – generally not in a most productive manner!
We often let this chimp/parrot (or whatever yours might be!) talk to us in a really damaging way, and most of the time in a way we’d definitely wouldn’t speak to anyone else!
So why do we do this? To be honest I have no idea – but I do know that I am just as much a culprit of letting my chimp jump up & down, screaming that ‘it will never work’, ‘what will people think?’, ‘do I want to stand out from the crowd?’ as anyone else.
I also know it takes time, patience and work on myself to change or manage the expectations of my chimp & let him accept what happens, know that what I am doing is the right thing and letting my confidence grow and build back up.
So next time you feel a wobble coming on or you feel yourself questioning what or why you are doing what you are doing, know that it’s your chimp talking; it’s not necessarily reality. And by simply changing the way you speak to yourself you can grow your confidence and not let it be squashed.
Use these top 10 tips to remind you that you’re definitely doing the right thing:
1. It makes you feel good inside, makes you smile, and/or makes other people smile.
2. Your perfect clients are finding you – those ones that are the best/easiest/most fun to deal with; those that appreciate what you do for them.
3. You enjoy going to ‘work’ – the true reason why you do what you do is never a chore.
4. You wake up excited for the day.
5. You know you are growing and learning, creating a better version of yourself to offer your clients
6. You can reflect back and look at your successes and what it meant for others.
7. You’ve learnt from your mistakes and aren’t repeating them over and over again.
8. You can see how far you have come – our journeys are never straight forward, that would be too easy!
9. You know you’re putting your best talents in to practice.
10. You know you are growing your business with integrity, respect and having fun along the way!
Find out more about what Jo Long Consulting can offer small/medium businesses and women returning to work.
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