I’ve always been a little jealous of the confident ones.
You know her…The room mom every year. The president of all the clubs. The mom who could work a room just from second nature.
It just never came that easy for me.
It wasn’t her fault! Secretly, I wanted to be her best friend – but I couldn’t stand next to her without feeling one inch tall.
I felt sure that my lack of confidence would be the detrimental downfall to my career. After all, I backed out of things before giving them a chance to grow. I changed my mind twice a day. I NEVER finished the things I started. I thought that’s just who I was. I wasn’t like her. I wasn’t committed or driven or sure of myself.
But really? It all boiled down to me, not believing that I was good enough; or that I was choosing the wrong path.
When I first began my career as a business coach, it pushed me FAR outside of my comfort zone. Every time I got on the phone with my own mentor, I just knew I was going to be pushed a little further than I’d like.
Blogging, public speaking, posting on my PERSONAL Facebook page (where my MOM could see?!) were all things that made me want to crawl under a rock and get cozy – and they were ALL on my to-do list.
And wouldn’t you guess? I didn’t do them.
But low and behold I found myself in the same place every single time – dissatisfied, overworked, not booking clients, and comparing myself to the coach of the day in my eyes.
I was so tired of going in circles and doing the bare minimum. I was tired of “what-if-ing” myself to death and wanting allllll the control over my business (and then never actually taking a step forward). It took me to getting to this point, where the only place to go was up (and out of my comfort zone), to be able to take a hard look at why life was working out this way for me. I had to realize that the reason that I was stagnant, wasn’t because that’s how I was made…but because it was how I was acting.
Seriously, what took me so long?
If you’re feeling stuck in this season where everything looks unsure, do yourself a favor and stop weighing the pros and cons of every possibility in front of you. Channel your inner DIsney princess and listen to your heart. Be bold about who you want to be and RUN in that direction. Keeping quiet will never keep you satisfied.
Often times we will analyze a situation to the end of time, when really we are doing more harm than good. We think that we are being noble and responsible but truly, we are stalling. There’s a time and place for looking at a situation from all angles and finding out the reality of the options in front of you. But when we let fear take the wheel and drive us into a complacency ditch, that’s where life stops happening.
If a choice you have to make is scary, then I promise you it’s going to be worthwhile. If stepping into a role forces you outside of your comfort zone, that’s exactly where you need to be. Take a deep breath and choose sister.
I hope today that as you’re reading this, you’re encouraged to make a decision you’ve been sitting on for weeks. That you will find peace in knowing that no one choice you make will ever be your life sentence. You can take risks, live life, try new things, fail at things, and even still be okay – you will thrive, actually.