4-Step Formula To Build Confidence (must read)
“I’m scared mom. Should I do it?”
“What if I fall off?” “What if I don’t like it?” “What if I get hurt?”
It’s ok to feel scared Alexis. Everyone feels scared right before they do something they’ve never done before. Remember when we were at Great Wolf Lodge and you wanted to go down the big slide but you felt scared? Then you built up the courage and went down anyways… do you remember how you felt after you went down the slide?
“Yes. It was so fun. I loved it.” “Ok. I’ll do it…”
Before I learned the 4 C’s Formula to build confidence created by Dan Sullivan I practiced anchoring confidence to good feelings with my daughter so that the next time she felt scared to try something she could recall the good feelings that are associated with confidence or triumph. So far, it’s working like a charm.
Dan Sullivan, the founder of Strategic Coach created the concept of the 4 C’s Formula, which beautifully explains the 4-part process of creating confidence.
The reality is that most of us continuously think about a bigger, better and supposedly easier ways to grow our businesses. The constant stream of never-ending ideas usually leads to inaction because you don’t end up committing to anything.
Or you have a consistent internal conversation going on in your head that might sound something like this…
“I don’t know enough”
“What if I’m asked a question I can’t answer”
“Do I have enough credentials to be taken seriously”
“I don’t look the part… my website doesn’t look the part… my branding sucks”
“What if she says no… what if no one buys my programs”
There are a number of things that hold you back from taking action, growing your business and living your purpose. As you step into entrepreneurism and get busy with all of the millions of things you need to do you can easily forget the BIG REASON WHY you wanted to pursue this career.
When I learned Dan’s 4 C’s Formula at my Strategic Coach session it immediately resonated and I knew I needed to teach this mindset model to my community.
As you can see from the 4-step model, confidence is actually the last step in the formula. Before you get to the good feelings that having confidence brings, you must work through the first 3 steps…
- Commitment
- Courage
- Capability
- Confidence
It’s been my experience that most new health practitioners, healers and coaches get tripped up on the first step: commitment.
It’s hard to commit to just one goal when you aren’t quite sure if it’s going to work out for you. In this case the chicken does come before the egg because without an unwavering commitment to one clearly defined vision it will be next to impossible to make any real progress.
Without a clear commitment to achieve realistic goals you can’t advance to the second step… courage.
It’s the courage part that feels really yucky because you have no proof that what you’ve committed to will work out. So you stop yourself before you even start because you’re scared.
That’s where faith in your passion and abilities comes in. That’s where having a proven business building system is vital… if you know that the system works then all you need to do is to commit to following it.
And there is a proven system for building a holistic health business – –
After you clearly define your goal and make a commitment to achieve your vision you’ll find courage. Courage = stepping outside of your comfort zone.
Building up courage allows you to create the capabilities to succeed. You’ve got to move through fear to demonstrate to yourself that you’ve got what it takes. That’s why confidence is last… you’ve got to prove to yourself you can in fact do it.
And on the other side of fear is freedom… or confidence.
Don’t expect to find the confidence right from the start. That’s not the way it works (don’t shoot the messenger).
So if you are stuck in your business and waiting to feel confident before you start remember the formula… remember that confidence only comes after you commit, move through fear and build up new skills (capabilities). Once you’ve done all of that you feel like a rock star and nothing can stop you… that’s confidence.
All of this is to say that feeling fear and lack of confidence is a completely normal part of building a business. It happens to all of us.
“You have plenty of courage, I am sure,” answered Oz. “All you need is confidence in yourself. There is no living thing that is not afraid when it faces danger. The true courage is in facing danger when you are afraid, and that kind of courage you have in plenty.”
― L. Frank Baum, The Wonderful Wizard of Oz
So the next time the fear creeps up, recognize it for what it really is… a gateway to confidence.
