Hey Friends,
It’s been a while. I wish I had a great reason why I have been so MIA from an online presence, but the only answer I have is…. I have become burnout due to lack of clarity on the next season of my life.
When I stepped away from my direct sales business in July 2022, I was done with the industry. The industry had been very good to me, and I had a really good financial year in 2022. It wasn’t from lack of income that I stepped away. It was from lack of integrity I saw all too often in the industry.
I’ve recently embarked on a new project that keeps me pretty busy most days, and yet my heart still yearns to serve the marketplace. As I have dove deeper and deeper into purpose in the last few months, one thing is certainly clear… God will NEVER call you to a purpose without EQUIPPING you to fulfill the purpose.
That still has left me confused and seeking to find what God’s purpose is for my life. I know that we have all a calling on our life, but I am at the place where I no longer want to build something that may be out of His will.
I know I am not the only one that struggles with this, so I want to share some of the lessons I am learning during this journey to fully walk out God’s will for my life… business wise.
IMPOSTER SYNDROME
I think the thing that has kept me stuck in the last few months is this concept of Imposter Syndrome that is talked about so often online. When I became an insurance agent, I never once felt that I was an imposter. I felt confident in my abilities to serve people to provide and protect their most cherished things… their family.
As I was reading A Confident Heart by Renee Swope, the realization of Imposter Syndrome became so clear to me that it is from the enemy. If the enemy can keep us confused, doubting and lacking confidence, he can keep us paralyzed from walking out our will.
Imposter syndrome will keep you in a hamster wheel of going nowhere. You won’t feel equipped to serve your audience because you have no testimonials to share and your lack of taking action keeps you from serving to gain testimonials. It is an endless cycle causing you to throw your hands up in the air and walk away like me for over 6 months.
If the promises of God are true, and I know they are… Why do we rely on external situations to deem ourselves fit to serve in an area that we feel God is calling us? Are we being disobedient to God by not taking action on our calling? Those are the heart wrenching questions that will keep you up at night.
The question becomes, how do you take action when you feel like you lack capabilities?
Increase Belief to decrease Imposter Syndrome
You begin to believe that it will work before you even have the plan. The plan will come from God as flashes of inspiration. God doesn’t expect you to have the plan when He calls you, He will provide the plan. This takes trust and obedience as you take the first step.
When you go below the surface of the lack of action, you will find fear. Fear is not your friend. It is your enemy when you allow it to rule your life. Doubt is fueled by fear. Fear will paralyze your faith. You have to take bold, courageous action when you do not feel equipped to do so.
God has given you a spirit of power, love and sound mind. Trying to control the situation will only add fuel to the fear. It will magnify the fear. The only way you can overcome the fear is to feel it through. Walk through it until it becomes familiar… comfortable. Action will expand your comfort zone.
Fear was never meant to ALWAYS stop us. It is meant to be a warning, kinda like a flashing yellow light. Yield and proceed with caution.
Hold onto the Promises of God
The second way you move through the Imposter syndrome… You hold onto the Promises of God. Too many times, you forget you are connected to the ultimate source of power. You do not have to rely solely on your personal strength. You have access to super natural strength through the power of the Holy Spirit.
When the overwhelming feeling of you not knowing enough feels in your soul, you can remind yourself that He tells you to rely on His strength, and you can do all that you’ve been called to do. “I have strength for ALL things in Christ who empowers me.” (Phil. 4:13)
Our faith is not about our performance, but it is about learning to be dependent on HIM. You have been created to live in dependence with Him.
As a believer in using affirmations to replace those pesky existing beliefs that have been programmed in you since childhood, I have recently begun to affirm the promises of God. What a relief it becomes to know that what I lack, He will provide. You always have access, if you accept His promises. I have put together my favorite affirmations to repeat daily. Be sure to grab a copy and print them out.
Release the Shame Around Imposter Syndrome
The third tip I have for you to say goodbye to imposter syndrome is to release the shame you feel TODAY. Imposter syndrome is viewed as a shortcoming or a problem, and many have been programmed to view problems as a cause for great shame. Shame tends to be the first thing you feel when a problem arises. Leaving you blocked from finding solutions.
Certain personalities are going to have a harder time accepting problems because they will view problems as a failure or mistake instead of as an opportunity. In Personality Plus by Florence Littauer, she describes four personality types, and I must admit the Perfect Melancholy Personality describes me. If you haven’t read the book, I would suggest you grab a copy and read it for acceptance and clarity.
Back to your view of problems… the moment you can reframe how you view problems, the magic will start to happen.
Embrace Problems
When you begin to embrace problems as:
- Problems are a constant in everyone’s life. Everyone has problems because we are broken people living in a broken world. Problems do not discriminate. Some are just larger than others, but the problems do not have to become your identity. You can break free from those chains of guilt and shame that you must be lacking because of the problems appearing.
- Problems are actually opportunities. Problems provide opportunity for impact as you begin to find solutions to problems. I really don’t know if there is a problem that is unique to you alone. So, finding a solution to a problem is also an opportunity for service to others. Problems become opportunities for your growth. Problem solving allows you to become uncomfortable and grow as a person.
- Problems force dependence. A lot of times, you may not be able to find the correct solution, and you have to depend on others or your creator for the solution.
Changing your view on imposter syndrome from being a problem to becoming an opportunity relieves the anxiety, shame, and doubt from your life. You become to live a life empowered, and you can truly begin to walk out your calling and make the impact that you were created to make.
Ladies, to be part of a community of women that are discovering daily what it means to walk out your calling, be sure to join my free community.
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