Starting Out As A life Coach? 4 Ways To Avoid The Comparison Paralysis Disease

By Guest Blogger: Terena Barajas

They say comparison is the thief of joy and I know it’s a minefield to navigate when you are starting out as a Life Coach.

Comparison can also be the thief of business, inspiration and income!

I’ve been there and if I were to bet, you’ve been there too.

For example, you are searching for inspiration online and read someone else’s post, or see their swanky new landing page, or see the press they’ve been in BOOM, the feeling of comparison sets in.

Will you ever be able to write like that? How do they do that? My writing seems so simple and mundane in comparison.

They seem to be able to share so clearly, they even clarify things that you have been playing around with for a while now.

Suddenly the post you were excited to write seems too basic, or not to be a big enough action step. Then you spiral into thinking about your website. The one you built up slowly, cheaply, and yet with so much love, now seems lacking in every way.  You feel desperate for the cash to hire the most amazing web designer and vamp it up NOW.

When you’re starting out as a Life Coach, you are doing everything yourself. Sometimes it’s hard to find inspiration AND do website upkeep AND think about your work AND find the time to process those thoughts and produce perfectly polished readable posts.

The result of too much ‘inspiration searching’ and research is freezing in comparison paralysis.

So in order thaw and take powerful action, here are the 4 things I’ve found that have helped me in starting out as a Life Coach A LOT:

1. Limit the time you spend browsing and reading. I know research is important, and I couldn’t agree with you more.  But, when you sit down to complete an activity such as writing a post, or updating/uploading your opt-in, stick to it. Browsing then, won’t help you.
2. Remind yourself of WHY you are coaching. If you can regularly connect to the reason behind your work, then getting it done, experimenting and failing along the way will become something you MUST do, because you will have no other choice. This tip in particular is one I love and have implemented as a result of Jeannine Yoder’s Mentor Masterclass.  To try it, set up a space every month, week or day for reviewing your WHY.
3. Pull Back For Perspective. No one is perfect. Not even that person that wrote the post you would have killed to have written yourself. You don’t know how many bad posts they wrote to get to that one great one.  If you freeze, your chances of reaching that level of achievement go out the window.
4. Trust that you have something special to say to the world and remind yourself that you will find your way to say it. For this, the only way to get there is to keep trying. Make this a piece of your TO DO list and be okay with the fact that it’s journey, not an overnight success.

Are you Starting Out As A life Coach?  Which of these tips will you use the next time you take action for your business? Why? Which one most resonated with you?

Share with me in the comments below!

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