What if you never feel “ready”?
Why the perfect star-aligning moment probably isn’t coming.
Ok, so I can just call myself a coach now??
I had just finished my certification and a year and a half of training and personal growth, intense experience and learning and I found myself feeling… like an absolute imposter. I kept finding reasons for why I couldn't possibly be ready, comparing my training to other training programs and telling myself I hadn't learned enough or gotten enough experience to go out into the world and offer my services.
And honestly the only thing that made me start anyway was my sheer stubbornness and my need to make this work. And maybe the fact that I didn't have another choice. I mean, what was my alternative? Throw away my certificate that I had worked SO hard for and go find a different job in another field?
And the other thing that really kept me going was the reason I decided to go into this work in the first place. I knew there were women out there that I could help. And I wanted to help them.
But those things did not take away the insecurities I had about whether or not I was a good coach.
So, I decided to start small. Experiment a little with lower stakes.
I had the idea of offering a 3-month coaching program but didn't know if it was a good idea, if anyone needed it or how well it would help my clients.
So, I offered it as a pilot project first. I put the word out and went off in search of three women to do the program as a trial with me, giving me feedback in exchange for the program. Because it was free and clearly stated as a pilot, I didn't feel the pressure to be the world's best coach, or to pretend I was selling a years-long tried and tested program.
Spoiler: It went well!
Did I have a few things to learn along the way? Of course I did. But it was a way for me to get started. To gain some experience and get good feedback. To feel just a little more confident telling people I was a coach, after having actually coached a few people.
It's fairly cliché at this point that "confidence comes from doing," but before your eyes roll into the back of your head, bear with me. Because there is something to it.
Trying something new (and potentially failing) in front of people is really, really hard.
So if you're like me, you might be telling yourself that waiting is the responsible thing, even the fair thing, when what you're considering involves working with other people and you want to be good at it. A few more books, courses, free sessions, or: fill in your perfect procrastination technique here, feel necessary before you're truly competent.
But at what point is it moving from a genuine desire to be able to do the thing that matters to you really well into a stalling technique that is, when we're being honest, possibly just fear being sold as professionalism?
Because no one starts off as an expert at anything. You have to try things out, do the work, make the mistakes, learn from the mistakes (in the best-case-scenario…) and slowly, confidence shows up somewhere in the middle.
Yes, we need to learn the skills to do the things, but at some point, we also have to just take the leap. If you're waiting to feel confident or ready enough before you start, you might be waiting a while.
Because it IS true. Confidence comes from doing.
Maybe you'll hate it. Maybe you'll "fail".
But what if it works out? What if you love it and find out that, with time, you're really kind of great at it?
So, my question for you is:
How can you lower the stakes for yourself enough to feel ready to take a first step, and what could that first mini step look like to you?
If finding your own first step feels hard right now, my year-end vision session might be exactly the thing you need.
Two hours (plus 12 reflection questions in advance) to reflect on the past year and build what you actually want 2027 to look like, in 3D, with LEGO.
Click here to book your session.
Ok, that's it from me! Happy October!
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