Do you have to feel confident before you take action or does confidence come because you took action first?
Today I'm joined by Jody Phifer, certified midlife coach for women and founder of Thrive With Intention, for a conversation about courage, confidence, identity, and why trying something new can feel especially vulnerable in midlife.
Because here's the strange thing about this season: in some ways, we care so much less about what other people think. We've lived. We've learned. We've already survived a whole lot. At the same time, the bigger decisions can somehow feel even scarier.
By midlife, we've built careers, relationships, identities, routines, and lives that feel established. Stepping into something new can disrupt that stability. We may have more evidence that we're capable, but we can also feel like we have more to lose.
Jody and I talk about what happens when you're used to being good at what you do and suddenly find yourself inexperienced again. We talk about imposter syndrome, self-promotion, starting something new later in life, and why courage often looks less like feeling fearless and more like getting comfortable being uncomfortable.
Jody also shares a powerful exercise for building confidence: create an evidence list.
Look back over your life and write down the things you've done, survived, learned, figured out, and accomplished. Then when the next scary thing comes along, you have evidence that you've moved through uncertainty before.
We also explore the tension that becomes especially real in midlife: wanting to savor the small, ordinary moments while also realizing that we don't have unlimited time to keep putting off the big things we want.
So maybe confidence doesn't have to come first. Maybe you take one step. Then another. And somewhere along the way, the evidence begins to accumulate.
It's not too late. You're not too old. And it's okay if the next thing you want requires you to be uncomfortable for a while.
Connect with Jody:
Join Simply Bold: https://www.plangoalplan.com/simplybold
Connect with me:
Ready to begin? Schedule a chat about Simply Bold at plangoalplan.com
