What to do when you find yourself in a phase of self-doubt
Today was a wonderful day. In fact, this week was a great week. However, in all honesty, I didn’t start out like that at all on Monday, as it was the first week of the children going back to school, and I felt I had to somehow jump straight back into my normal working routine. It was much harder than I thought. I had a head full of thoughts, ideas, reminders, and – also – a nasty little voice inside my head telling me that I was failing, not organised, and that I should maybe just pack it all in. I felt chaotic and stressed, and I put a lot of pressure on myself! Then on top of that, I was at the end of my cycle, and rather low on energy. This is a post about how to coach yourself back into the game.
So how did I end up on a high by Friday?
I told myself to stop and listen. Listen to the silence, the birds, and my true self.
I told myself that I needed rest, and that it was totally OK to not jump straight back in. I gave myself permission to spend time on self-care. What did that look like? I did some content creating and admin while I had the energy for it. Then I did some housework. I meditated. I did EFT tapping and I let go of stored anxiety. I repeated the affirmation to ‘go with the flow’, and trust in the moment. The annoying voice still kept coming, but I tried to ignore it.
The truth was, I needed to reconnect with myself after nearly three months of Summer. A busy time with the family, traveling, being out of my normal routine, and not being on top of my business caused me to feel out of sync.
Being out of sync then led to self-doubt, and anxiety over whether I was actually doing the right thing in life. Do you recognise this? Once I reminded myself that none of this was true, and only a story that had popped up my head due to circumstances, it got better as the week progressed.
Today I came home happy.
Gratitude and acceptance as medicine to coach yourself
I had worked my other job, as a city guide for tourists in Valencia, and I realised how much I love making people happy. I felt nothing but gratitude for my life in Spain. The fact that I don’t have to go to an office from 9 to 5, and that I have totally created a life worth living. A life where I combine all of my gifts and talents, and have found an environment where they all get a chance to shine. I get to share my knowledge and passion for culture, architecture and history with visitors to Valencia, I get to sing in a band, I paint, I have plenty of free time to spend with my family, and I get to support other entrepreneurs as a creative business coach. What’s not to love?
Gratitude is a powerful medicine. And so is acceptance of moods, cycles and little ups and downs. Gratitude and acceptance are my tools to stay connected to myself. To not spiral into depression, but to see the beauty in little things each day. To count my blessings, to feel the warm sunshine on my skin, to be so utterly thankful for what life is giving me.
It is normal to feel like crap sometimes. It is normal to feel low, not like yourself, and like you’re doing it all wrong. And when one thing feels ‘off’, then it’s like Murphy’s law: everything else seems to also not go to plan.
Your energy attracts a certain energy. When you are angry or depressed, it is like your whole environment adapts to this, and everyone and everything confirms this feeling. But it is only a temporary reality. Knowing how to coach yourself back to ‘normal’ is key. You need to find a way not to make that rubbish feeling last for too long. Because deep inside you know who you are, you know that your core being chooses joy, and knows what to do. Have an early night, and do what brings you back to your true core. You’ll soon find your happy back.
Work with me
As a creative business coach, I teach marketing tricks but I also coach clients back into the game when they are off-track and are going through a wobble. I am good at that. Call me if you want to find out more about working with me.