Learning self-trust is a journey! It takes time and involves a lot of inner work, but don’t worry, we’re here to make it tangible. It means assessing, evaluating, and implementing. It means learning what to do with your thoughts and beliefs, your narratives, your values, and your body’s signals. It also means a lot of reflection and expression that you may not be used to. It requires space and time, and a whole lot of self-love. Trust us, it’s worth it!

Slow down, get quiet, and shift your mindset

Slow the heck down…

When you’re running around doing a zillion things and your to-do list is a mile long, it can feel like there’s no time to slow down. Even more so, it can feel like there’s no  s p a c e. This is not the vibe you want if you’re tuning into the more subtle signals deep within your being, right? Makes sense right? But how often do you actually slow down? We know it can be a bit scary, but it’s the first place to start. 

Get quiet and listen…

Once you slow down, pay attention to what wants to come to the surface because inevitably, it will. Maybe this is the reason you’ve avoided slowing down until now? Either way, anticipate, accept, and embrace the discomfort if you’re new to this! Learning to trust yourself is a journey, and it starts with being willing to listen inward. Are you whispering certain things in conversation because you’re a little afraid to say them out loud? You might even do this subconsciously, and don’t worry, we see this in our sessions all the time!

Do reflective and expressive practices – mindfulness, journaling, etc 

This goes back to what we said at the beginning, but learning self trust requires making a lot of metaphorical  s p a c e.  Whether you’re allowing new thoughts to be present, noticing different signals in your body, or doing a cathartic brain dump into your journal – explore, reflect, and allow your thoughts to flow. And on the flip side, if you’re not used to letting out what’s inside, this takes practice too. It involves not only saying what you feel, but also advocating for it. And this means we gotta develop your self worth and confidence too! 

Learn About Your Programming and Shift Your Mindset

Assess your beliefs, conditioning, and programming

This is exactly the kind of thing you don’t normally stop to think about. Are we right? When you’re running around like a chicken with your head cut off, putting out fire after fire, it’s just not. So, we invite you to take this slowly! It’s highly likely that some of your current beliefs and thought patterns are just well-worn habits. It’s even more likely that many are the result of programming that goes back further than you think about on a regular basis. And it’s extremely likely that all of this stuff affects you way more today than you ever realized. 

Here’s some questions to guide you:

• What are your beliefs?
• About yourself? Success and achievement? Motivation? Identity? Money? Self love? Rest? Guilt?
• Are they truly yours?
• Are they programmed based on what you learned or saw modeled for you when you were growing up?
• Can you recall specific memories or events from your past that relate?
• Are these beliefs light or heavy?
• Are they actually true?
• Are they habits?
• Are they relevant for you today? Are they beliefs that limit you or support you in your goals and future?
• Do you want to put them down or carry them forward with you? How do they relate to your most important values? 

Shift your mindset – specifically towards curiosity and self compassion 

One of the biggest barriers to self trust is your current mindset! We promise, viewing self trust as a journey full of curiosity and experimentation is the way to go. In fact, it’s wayyyy better than putting a ton of pressure on yourself and judging yourself if you don’t get it “right” or if it doesn’t feel natural immediately. Take notes and journal. What situations test your ability to trust yourself, and what happens when you either follow your gut or not? Where can you get curious? Where can you lean into and embrace different ways of knowing even if they don’t “make sense”? 

This is a great place to work on your self compassion practice too!

Ask yourself:

• How can I be 1 % kinder to myself today?
• What are my needs?
• Am I meeting them?
• How would I feel if I gave myself time, space, and permission to rest?

Get In Tune With Your Body 

Learn to read your body’s signals  – aka interoception

Have you heard of it? Allow us to explain with an example. Maybe you have worked in an environment which tells you (directly or indirectly) to ignore signals from your body. Maybe you end up sacrificing your own wellbeing, not taking breaks, or putting yourself on the back burner? Cough cough, healthcare! Let’s get back to the basics here – like recognizing when you’re hungry or need to go to the bathroom. We know a surprising amount of highly successful people who have suppressed these signals for literal years. Even with a change of work environment, they tend to keep doing it out of habit. How in tune are you with your body’s signals? Can you listen and hear even the subtle messages it’s trying to send?

Practice listening to your gut feelings – aka your intuition

Slow down to see what perspective you can gain from different ways of looking at the same question. Do it in three ways – with your thoughts, your feelings, and your intuition. Take 10 slow, conscious breaths and allow yourself to answer from one area at a time.

• First – your thoughts, and realize these might be skewed towards fear and self protection.
• Second – your emotions and feelings in your body. Do you feel a lump in your throat, tightness in your chest, or discomfort in your belly?
• Third – that deep down, gut feeling that you can’t explain.

Are these three areas telling you different things? Or, do they match each other? As you get more comfortable with this, you’ll become more attuned to your intuition. 

Try a physical exercise or movement that requires balance and learning to use different muscles 

Think of it like cross training! And side note, come to our retreat in the French Alps where you can learn to ski as an adult, and we’ll make learning self trust REALLY fun (and fabulous), we promise. Trusting yourself means trusting your body, and this can be easily overlooked. Seriously though, try standing on one foot and see how long you last, then try it again with your eyes closed, and tell us how it goes! 

Practice, Practice, Practice 

Remember, learning self trust is a journey! It involves a lot of inner work, assessing, evaluating, and learning what to do with your thoughts and beliefs, your narratives, your values, and your body’s signals. It also means a lot of reflection and expression that you may not be used to. It requires space and time, and a whole lot of self love, but it’s so worth it!  

Lean Into Support

We know, we know this is A LOT. And we won’t sugarcoat it, your self trust journey will take time. It also won’t always be rainbows and butterflies. But we’re on a mission to demystify the Inner Work of Wellness and simple and fulfilling. And we can hold compassionate space for you like no one else can. This may be the “inner work,” but you do NOT need to do it alone. 

This is also the kind of stuff we LOVE to help our clients with. For us, it’s the most rewarding work there is, and it totally lights us up.

Want to see if we’re a fit? Book a complimentary session with one of us here !

We get it, you might be a tad nervous but there’s no need to be. We’re fun, we’ll make you feel super comfortable, and we’re both excellent at what we do!