Did you miss me? We went on a little summer hiatus and by we I mean me and by summer hiatus I mean wow did I need a break. That’s the thing about running your own business, it’s easy to run on empty and I’m not keen on burnout (I’ve been there and done that) so I took some time out and I’m now back with a steadier pace rather than rush rush rush.

So this episode I felt is rather poignant – the idea of not feeling good enough. Now, I love sharing my thoughts and feelings with you on this podcast but let me tell you my imposter syndrome has never felt so strong as when I sit on my own to record these episodes. It feels so incredibly vulnerable and when I couldn’t sleep the other night following my first full day of screen time following my summer break, it got me thinking about not feeling “good enough”. What is “good enough”? Good enough for who and why does it even matter?

You see, as business owners, we strive to be the best we can be. We want the best sales results, to offer the best products and services, to have the best social media or website and when that doesn’t happen we get frustrated, overwhelmed, and we simply stop showing up. 

But here’s the thing. We often mix up striving to be the best we can be, with the idea of being perfect, so we tell ourselves we’re not good enough but that is simply not true. 

Related episodes 21 – The game of managing expectations

So today I want to share with you what I reflect on when I don’t feel like anything I do is good enough, and give you a few reality checks to come back to when you have that sneaking feeling of self-doubt. 

What I realised is that fear of not hitting publish that I see is so prevalent in the wider community?

Not hitting publish will ensure I am never good enough. And that’s a comfortable place to be, complaining along with everyone else that I never quite made it. Full of resentment, cynicism and sarcasm. Somehow it’s cool not to care. Well this may not shock you to know that I consider it extremely cool to care. 

….the best results in my business have happened when I took action, when I have simply hit publish. 

Like I can only imagine a chef feels as they send out a meal they’ve been working hard on, I record these podcasts which spawn blogs, and email newsletters and social media posts. They create conversations online with me and also provide talking points in chats I have no active part in. They are for someone else to taste now. And that is scary to me because I am a control freak. 

Related episodes 7 – How I deal with imposter syndrome

Some common thoughts that run through my head

….I should have worked on a concept more, I could have said so much more. But actually people send me such positive DMs

….The blogs where I felt I hadn’t answered well enough but people come back to me and say wow there are so many resources on your website I don’t know where to dive in first, exciting

….The Facebook Lives where fewer people turned up than I hoped for but actually all those that do love it and on my recent break I had messages saying the lives were missed!

….The challenges where I’ve been trolled but after which I’ve received such an outpouring of love that it didn’t matter

…or the Instagram posts that went accidentally viral and I felt bad because it wasn’t original content and why didn’t my own content do better and etc etc. Not a reason to beat myself up actually.

Oh, and do check out my week-long free challenge! We start Monday 27th September covering how to create content so you can show up and get booked! 

I would LOVE to see you there – you can register for your free spot here.

For maximum inspiration, do listen to the full episode here on Spotify or here on iTunes or wherever you listen to podcasts.

I’d love you to pop me a DM which one thing are you going to try to be more visible today? You can find me on Instagram @Maddy.Shine

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Thank you and love,

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