Ya know, it must just be a fall thing. Almost exactly a year ago, I wrote a blog post on creating confidence. Interestingly, it has come up again. Maybe it’s because August and September feel very much like a second New Year.
With the beginning of school at age 5, every year, we have prepared and shifted the way we live out our days. We end summer with its long, languishing fun and begin the structure of school. It’s a second New Year.
With the changes in this second New Year, some of us also need a second boost of confidence.
Remember when you were a kid, getting ready to start a new school year? I always got new shoes and a stern warning to take good care of them because they have to last all year. My Mom reviewed with me how to polish my shoes, waterproof and preserve the leather. Yeah- that was a long time ago, but a good memory.
I often got new school outfits and some new pencils, maybe even a book bag! It was an exciting time.
Still, I worried about school starting. Would I make new friends? Like my teacher? Find my way in the building? I was excited yet worried about something new coming. It was such a mix of emotions.
That emotional mix of excitement and worry can be interpreted in one of two ways. Studies have shown that feelings of anxiety/worry are felt in the body much the same way as feelings of excitement. Isn’t that interesting? Anxiety and Excitement feel the same way in the body.
As Creators, then, we get to choose our response to that feeling in the body.
What will we call it? Fear, dread, or excitement and thrill?
What story will we give it?
Better yet, can we simply allow and be curious about it without a story?
And enjoy the experience, being fully present?
One day the revelation came that I could shift the interpretive thoughts I created about my physical sensations. I chose to call my feelings ‘honored and excited to be invited to teach.’
Every time I chose to give those physical sensations the name of excitement and honor, I smiled.
Was it easy? No.
I had years of experience calling those feelings dread and anxiety.
But that was all it was- a label I gave the physical sensation in my body.
I could reroute my thoughts about that sensation.
Eventually, I learned to create thoughts that produced feelings of calm and hope in my body instead and avoided the sensations and the story.
That was amazing.
It has born new confidence in simply being me and continuing my life mission.
You can have that confidence too.
Creator-based® Self-coaching, utilizing the tools to kindly self “parent,” liberates and sets us free to create the life we have always wanted- living with compassion, mindfulness and hope.
Have you heard that our annual YouWeek is coming up next month? It’s the perfect time to learn more of this stuff and get inspired, making this your best “school year” ever.
Then next year, that worry will be called excitement- even confidence!
Check it out here- CMHCoaching.com/YouWeek
All my love,
Beth
CMH Coaching for Life
