Maintaining belief and being productive when fear creeps in to work situations

This is my first question having just joined a few days ago.
I am a freelancer and run workshops for women in their mid-years. Marketing takes up a lot of my time getting enough people signed up. I often get stage fright in the lead-up to the workshop and doubt myself, get over complicated, repeat work I have already done and lose my clarity about what I am offering and get afraid of failing. I have run these workshops before and always get rave feedback about them.
I would like to streamline my workflow and keep my nerve, creativity and time management in good shape. I’d love some help with this.
thankyou

 

Answer:

First, welcome to The Flow Collective. We are so glad you reached out on Ask a Coach. You are starting with some great insight about yourself.

Let’s take a look at the thought model that occurs before your workshop

C: Pre-workshop
T: I may fail
F: Fear
A: Doubt myself
A: Over complicate my work
A: Repeat completed work
A: Lose my clarity on what I’m doing
R: I fail myself.

You fail yourself by not believing that you are ready, know what you are doing, and have made your best choices. That is why you are double checking and confusing yourself.

It would be helpful to understand the story your brain offers. What would it mean to fail? Once you understand to what you are referring, what is the worst case scenario if that happened?

Why do you think your brain offers your this story? Our brains do things for a reason. It usually thinks it is helping you in some way.

Many times, the brain is trying to stop you from doing something that may be new or unpleasant. That is how it is programmed for survival.

By understanding your brain, then we can begin to change it. We can’t change it if we do not acknowledge what it is doing and why.

You are already aware of your model, and what happens when you begin to have these thoughts. Now, when you begin to think you may fail, you acknowledge what is going on. It may sound like this, “Of course, I’m feeling afraid. I’m thinking that I may fail. My brain is trying to protect me because I’m putting myself out there. Thank you, brain. I’ve got this. I’m doing this because [enter why]. I know whatever may happen, I will be able to take care of myself.”

You may acknowledge, understand, and then go for a more intentional thought that helps you move into action in a way that creates the result you desire. What would that sound like?