Fears & Insecurities / Thanks But No Thanks
/Guest Post by Lauren Copeland
When I first told my husband that I wanted to be a ‘life coach’ he was very supportive, but one of the first questions he asked was, "Can YOU do that?" Because let’s be honest, I’m an introvert.
Up to that point I had let my introvert tendencies and fears get in the way of me making bolder changes.
Our conversation from that evening will forever be etched in my mind, if only because of his simple question. I had never been asked that. No one had ever called me out on my insecurities. And for the first time in my life I was admitting that I was fed up with the fears holding me back. I was done with wanting to be, do and live more and not boldly stepping outside of my limited comfort zone to go after it. If there is one thing I have learned in the past year, it is that we are greater than our fears. Fears can be tough. They influence us to imagine crazy scenarios and can wither us down to nothing, but we are greater than they would have us believe.
That night I took the first step in saying thanks but no thanks to my fears, and today I get to share with you the 3 steps that I have learned are most important when it comes to facing fears and gaining confidence over insecurities.
1.) Call it out for what it is – label it /
Name it. One of my fears is that I could never be as good as the people who were already doing similar things. I was comparing what I envisioned as my own success to theirs. Whatever it is that you fear, dig deep and call it out for what it is. Only then can you actually begin to take the necessary steps to move past it and make your dream a reality.
2.) Envision what you would be proud of later /
10 years from now when you look back on your life, will you be happy with the decision you made? Even if you try and end up flopping, will that bring more content then if you never tried at all? After the conversation with my husband, I knew if I let my fears and insecurities keep me from the pursuit of coaching, I would always wonder what if. If I did not even try, would I be happy with that decision. My answer was an absolute no. I would have disappointed myself.
3.) Have a community /
In all honesty this might be the most important one of all. Do you have a community of like-minded individuals that you can go to for encouragement, support and maybe even a kick-in the pants? Having someone(s) to bounce your ideas off of, open your heart to and share your fears with is one of the best tricks of the trade when it comes to reaching your success. Reach out to those around you, take the time to meet new faces and build or find yourself a community for your journey. I do not know that I would have made it this far without the support and downright awesomeness of my online mompreneur community. And a little secret? Some of my best fellow lady support comes from a paid community I am part of.
Every woman in there is dedicated to reaching success and helping each other out along the way.
I didn’t just overcome my fears, and they magically never came up again after that evening with my husband. The same fears (and new fears) continue to raise their nasty heads at different points in my business and life, and they will in yours as well. But now, I pray you can be confident in your ability to say thanks, but no thanks! Joshua 1:9
I’m Lauren Copeland! A wife to my partner in crime, mom to a feisty 6-year-old daughter, fur mom to Moneypenny the Corgi and an Empowering Life and Clarity Coach to fellow amazing ladies! I still get giggly at the thought that I get to spend my time working with women to discover what the ‘mores’ are for their lives and businesses, how they can make them a reality and pursue the life they love without sacrificing their unique selves. I’m a former wedding planner and bookkeeper, turned stay at home mom & coach. I love a good romance novel, my guilty pleasure is big ban: swing music, and I have a sweet tooth the size of my home state of Texas. You can find me scoping weekly @LaurenCopeland, and more information about me and my coaching niche/style on my website.
