It was 6:30am on a sunny day in June 2012. I was driving down the highway in a panic. I was strategically wearing a jacket to try and cover up the sweat dripping through my shirt. I couldn’t believe what I was about to do. For years, I had done everything in my power to avoid a situation like this.
But, I knew it was time to breakthrough.
I barely slept the night before. In my mind, I was constantly going over what I was going to say. I probably rehearsed it 1,000 times. I pulled up to the building, took a deep breath, and fantasized about leaving and driving back home. No one will ever know, I said to myself. I took another deep breath and called upon on the all the courage I could find. I got out of the car and walked into a room of 35 people laughing and talking.
You can do this, I said to myself under my breath.
What I was about to do has completely changed the course of my business and my life.
I was about to take my first step in overcoming my fear of speaking.
I was at a networking event and we all had to go around the room and give a 60 second commercial of who you are and what you do. Now, this may not seem like a big deal, but it was a BIG deal to me. I had purposely AVOIDED groups like this for years because of my fear of speaking.
It was my turn. I stood up, smiled, and spoke confidently about who I am and how I help people. When I was finished, I felt like the weight of the world was off my shoulders. Something changed inside of me.
Fast forward 6 years.
I have spoken MANY times at networking events and conferences. I’ve lead numerous workshops from 2 hrs to 8 hrs. I’ve co-hosted a 2 day women’s retreat. I’ve created countless webinars, FB lives, and you tube videos.
I LOVE speaking….truly. I know that speaking and sharing my story and message is part of my purpose.
People that see me speak now have absolutely no clue how terrified I used to be.
So, what changed?
I got to the root cause of my fear…past trauma…and healed it.
Speaking was a huge trigger for me before I healed from past trauma. I had created limited beliefs that it’s not safe to be seen. I believed from past experiences that bad things happen when you have attention on you. These beliefs were deep beneath the surface. I was afraid to speak my truth for fear of getting in trouble. So, I hid to “protect” myself.
Even though those past traumas had happened YEARS ago, they were still impacting my choices.
But, I got to a point where the pain I felt from staying silent and hiding became greater than my fear.
Healing from past trauma and choosing to overcome my fear of speaking has led to me living my purpose and experiencing my gifts. I’ve learned I have a gift for creating an environment and holding space for people to facilitate massive breakthroughs. I’ve felt the honor of people feeling safe enough to open up and be vulnerable for the first time in a long time. I’ve had the privilege of people sharing with me how I have helped to transform their lives by sharing my story. None of this would’ve been possible if I had stayed stuck in my trauma and fear.
I talk to so many women that feel lost, confused, unfulfilled, and lack purpose. They have no idea what they really want, or if they do know, they can not seem to move forward. The root cause is unhealed past trauma. Trauma they experienced where they believed they were not good enough, not worthy, bad, wrong, or worthless.
I’m here to share with you it does NOT have to be this way.
YOU CAN HEAL! YOU CAN FEEL WORTHY! YOU CAN LIVE YOUR PURPOSE!
If you are feeling stuck and ready to breakthrough and heal. I am creating an amazing event to help heal from trauma so you can experience your gifts and live your purpose.
Email support@believegrowshine.com if you are interested and would like more details.
Life is too short to hide. It’s too short to sit on the sidelines. It’s too short to live with regrets.
With Courage,
Colleen
