There's a book that's been on my family's bookshelf since the 80's.
Yes, seriously! It has been packed away for donation several times only to be removed and returned to its special spot on the shelf.
I've never read the book — in fact, I've never seen anyone read the book.
The cover is BLAH — maybe even boring. It even survived my most recent Marie Kondo inspired organization sweep and, once again, I placed it back on the shelf.
So… what kept this book safely on our book shelf for all these decades?
THE TITLE —
“YOU CAN'T AFFORD THE LUXURY OF A NEGATIVE THOUGHT”.
WOW, right? Write that in big letters somewhere you can see it every day.
Those words became my mantra for life.
Now, right up front, I'm not promoting the book. What I am promoting is this – WE MUST PROTECT OUR THINKING AND OUR MINDS.
…especially as female entrepreneurs.
At any stage in business, whether you're at the start or a few years into entrepreneurship, you'll always come up against negativity. If we buy into it, the spiral downwards can becomes toxic… really fast. In the beginning, we may feel shaky about how and where our business is headed. After all, it's all so new! We're on a learning curve and probably a limited budget. When we're a few years into entrepreneurship, we wonder if we can maintain it all. We wonder if this is all there is, or ever will be — how can we scale it into something even bigger?
There's always something to worry about, if we let it happen.
And THEN, as if our own doubts aren't enough, someone else comes along and plants a negative thought into our minds. This floods our mind with doubts about our ideas and aspirations.
FEAR creeps into our thought, and we may feel a twinge of ‘panic'… even personal doubt.
So, let's deal with this right now, babe. You're meant for great things, and it's time to stop letting fear stand in your way.
Don't give fear the luxury of lingering in your mind for too long.
You deserve better.
So, what's a BossBabe to do? Here's a few ideas to stop feeling fearful in your business, knock fear to the curb, and start smashin' it in your biz again!
1 – #Throwback
Let's throw it back a bit and remember those late nights out with the girls. Remember the bouncer at the entrance to the club way back in the day? Imagine you're that bouncer, but instead of protecting the club, you're protecting your mind. Imagine you see someone who you do NOT want in your club. You fold your arms across your chest, widen your stance and block the entrance. You ask a few questions and listen to their lies. If it doesn't serve you and your Highest Good, it simply does not enter.
Babe, you get to decide what enters into your mind.
2 – And When the Negative Thought Comes…
The same principle applies when you have to confront the FEAR you might be feeling within your business.
You are the bouncer, guarding the entrance of your thoughts. Behind the door of your mind, you joyfully entertain creative product ideas, inspiration, business development, vision, collaboration ideas and visualizing your success — you know, just like you'd entertain those high vibe people you'd want to be in your club.
Suddenly, FEAR approaches your thought. It wants to come in a crash the party — not in a good way.
You wisely block the entrance. You widen your stance. You ask FEAR a few questions, and this is what it reveals about its identity.
- Fear is already intoxicated with failure.
- Fear is afraid of ridicule.
- Fear has lost its direction.
- Fear is afraid of rejection.
- Fear is jealous of “competition”.
- Fear is afraid of making mistakes.
- Fear steals joy.
- Fear mocks creativity.
And fear is trying to infuse its identity into the high vibe space within your mind.
Yeah, how about, “HELL NO!”
Tell fear to move along, it's not welcome here. Don't give fear the luxury of invading your thought and inspiration.
3 – Flip that B*!ch
You might still be a little shaken by the approach of fear, so there's one final step to take. One at a time, reverse EVERY negative thought that tries to creep in. For example, “fear is afraid of ridicule” translates to – “What will others think of me, if I fail?”
FLIP IT.
The idea for your business was yours, so take ownership of it.
Don't look to others for approval. Seriously, don't even go there.
You already possess the qualities and ability to grow your business.
Allow ideas to evolve — not fail.
Never make a decision based on fear, only based on your intuition.
Be sure to comment and tell us what you are going to do to stop feeling fearful in your business.
How are you planning to stop feeling fearful in your business?
Be sure to join me in my facebook group for passion-driven fempreneurs who are crushin’ fear and living in their purpose!
Michelle is the founder and Owner of Elixir Apothecary, a successful self-care and skin-care brand and has 4+ years of experience in the business world.
Michelle is also the founder & CEO of Hello Wholeness Co., a blog and resource hub for women who want to create businesses that align with their soul's purpose.
She is here to help you create a powerful, impactful, fulfilling, and profitable business!
Follow along with her on Instagram and check out her website to see how she can support you!
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