Lately I’ve been feeling a bit stuck and frustrated because I don’t feel like I am where I want to be in my life and my career, both as a lawyer and here on social media. It’s almost like there is some invisible barrier holding me back from achieving my goals.
In the middle of this “crisis” I was lucky enough to hear from the lovely Clare Sheehan from GG Creative and Alaina Brown from Shii Mii – Luxe Affirmation Cards about an opportunity to “get my Shii together” at their very first Get Your Shii Together Sunday’s event. The invitation couldn’t have come at a better time and I felt like it would be a perfect opportunity to set aside a bit of dedicated time to do something for myself that might help me through this rut I feel like I’ve been stuck in.
The morning, hosted at InSync Studio in Griffith, focused on helping us identify the beliefs we have about ourselves that limit us in our career, relationships and in life in general. You know, that familiar little voice in our heads that reminds us why you can’t have or achieve something. That you aren’t good enough, confident enough, smart enough, worthy enough, *insert* a multitude of enough’s or have not’s. Do any of these feelings sound familiar to you? Well guess what – the most important lesson we learnt was that these beliefs are NOT TRUE!
I think I always knew I had these beliefs about myself that I’ve picked up along the way in my life but it wasn’t quite clear until I actually spent the time explicitly recognising that I have them and exactly what they are by writing them down. It’s amazing how powerful these beliefs can be – powerful enough to shape the course of our career and our lives! Looking back, I can pinpoint numerous instances where my limiting beliefs have impacted on my career and my life. There was a time where I even stayed in a job where I put up with never being paid on time because I believed I wasn’t experienced enough to get a job anywhere else.
Being a young lawyer, especially as a female, can be tough. It can be a really stressful environment at times where I’m often required to tackle complex problems and difficult clients that can leave me doubting myself and my skills. Combine this with a competitive environment where it’s very hard not to compare yourself with other young lawyers and soon enough that little voice in your head is questioning whether you really are smart enough, brave enough or even cut out for the job.
I find social media can be really similar when it comes to comparing yourself with others and attracting these limiting beliefs about yourself. Scrolling through my Instagram feed can leave me feeling as though everyone else around me is living their best life and achieving their goals while I’m just not creative enough or good enough to have the same success within my reach.
Pin-pointing these beliefs that I have about myself was like a revelation for me. No wonder I have been feeling like it’s hard to move forward when I have this nasty little voice in my head telling me why bother taking a leap or putting the time into my career when I’m not good enough to succeed anyway or I’m not going to have enough time to finish this project.
Identifying that I have these beliefs, where they have come from and recognising that they are not in fact true is one of the most valuable tools I’ve learnt. The best part about the morning was learning that these silly limiting beliefs we have about ourselves can be changed – that’s right, we aren’t stuck with them! We were assisted through a series of exercises to create positive affirmations for ourselves that will help rid ourselves of these limiting beliefs.
We finished up the morning with a group hypnosis session on self love where we had the chance to reaffirm these positive affirmations in our subconscious. Hypnosis isn’t something I’ve ever experienced before and it wasn’t at all like I expected. We were guided by Clare into what felt like an incredibly relaxed state where you couldn’t help but close your eyes and let go. I was still completely aware and in control of myself the entire time but had this incredible feeling of complete stillness and focus. In this state it almost felt easy to change my perceptions about myself as Clare guided us through replacing our limiting beliefs with positive beliefs. When it was time to open our eyes I was overwhelmed with a feeling of empowerment and refreshment. Amazingly, the hypnosis lasted an entire hour although it honestly felt like it had only been half that length of time.
Not only did I leave feeling much more equipped to overcome my limiting beliefs, move forward in my career and achieve my goals but I also had the opportunity to catch up and chat with a bunch of other amazing women. It was great to hear from other women about their own experiences and it was really comforting to know that it’s not just me that has insecurities and beliefs about themselves.
Plus, the grazing platter from Nibble & Nourish that we got to dig into over lunch was pretty amazing too!
If you feel like you have missed out, don’t worry, because Alaina and Clare will be running a second Get Your Shii Together Sunday’s event on Sunday 29 April 2018! This event will be focused on relationships – creating connection and deepening, evolving and transforming the relationships you have in your life. Based on the success of their last event I’m sure this one will sell out too so make sure you grab your tickets quick! They can be purchased HERE.
I was invited along to this event but all opinions expressed are 100% my own.
