Hi, and welcome back to the Awfully Quiet Podcast. Now, this might not mean much to anyone else, but this is episode 80 of the podcast and it feels like a good moment to say thank you for being here, for listening, for sharing episodes with your friends or sending them to that colleague who gets it. I am constantly evolving the space, testing what works, shifting formats, listening to what resonates.

And I'm honestly really proud of what we've been building, the incredible guests we've had, and the ones I've already have scheduled for recording in the next couple of weeks. The solo episodes that have evolved quite a bit to be now really short, sharp, and from what you've been telling me, actually helpful.

And every once in a while I like to sprinkle in something that's a little more personal, a reflection on where I'm really at. What I've been working through behind the scenes, and that's what this episode is today, is about self-doubt, the kind that creeps in during times. We have something big in front of us, like a change, a pivot, a project, an ambition, and there is this voice that asks, who do you think you are?

And that voice has been coming up for me a lot lately. Actually ever since my conversation with Jessica Faith Grham on the pod, I've been thinking more about our inner monologue and how much it holds us back from what we're actually capable of. And I've been hearing mine a lot recently because I'm in this very particular season in my career where frankly there are a lot of exciting things happening.

There is momentum, there is movement, there is growth. But internally, deep down there is still self-doubt. There is still that voice. And if you've been listening to the podcast, you know, I've been working on really diversifying my career over the past couple of years. Usually the narrative around building an online business or starting a podcast or something like quit your corporate job and chase your passion full time.

But that is not my story. What actually excites me is this idea of a multi career, one way. You don't have to pick one identity or a path, but instead build a life made of various different but aligned pieces. And for me, my corporate brand marketing role is one of those pieces. It's aligned, it's strategic, and at the same time, so is this thing I'm building on my own?

This ambition to change the narrative of what it means to be awfully quiet and to have ambition. That doesn't look loud, but I'll be honest in my head, I often downplay that. I often refer to it as a side project, a side hustle, or worse, I call it an expensive hobby. Because truthfully, I put more into this than I get out financially and my corporate role funds it.

So when I scroll online and see entrepreneurs making more from their businesses than their full-time jobs, leaving corporate to be quote unquote free, I spiral a little, but something shifted lately. It may be the algorithm I'm in, or maybe it's a broader shift in the culture. But I've been seeing more people say the opposite online, that two years into quote unquote freedom, it stopped feeling so free that some are returning to corporate work.

I've seen Influenzas online say they'd rather work as a barista than monetize every corner of their life, and that's when I realized I've been making myself feel so bad for something that was actually pretty smart. I didn't build this to Escape corporate, I built it to live alongside it, not either or, but and.

And because of that, I've been able to grow into a senior brand manager role, take on strategic projects that position me as a future business leader and build an online presence that now is speaking directly to the people I'm meaning to reach. Subtle career is a platform I've been working on for years.

It's finally gaining traction, not because I went viral, not because I followed some trend, but because of trial and error. A lot of quiet persistence and honestly blood, sweat, and tears, and a lot of self-doubt. Now, at the beginning of this year, I would've called that resilience. That ability to keep posting and showing up despite seeing no visible results.

But lately I started to see it differently. It's not just resilience, it's the ability to influence the way we speak to ourselves to move through. And more importantly, so with. Self-doubt because this thought spiral I just shared with you of seeing someone online, an entrepreneur who left corporate and seems to be living the exact career I've been working toward.

And even though I've poured everything, I've got into this for the past years, I'm still far from there. This thought spiral, this pattern, it is not a one-off. It's something that I navigate daily. I'm, no, I'm not the only one. You know, all these trends we're seeing online right now, all these viral social videos, like I met my younger self for coffee or she doesn't know it yet, but, or I am not too ashamed.

I'm not ashamed to admit, but they're all part of the same movement. It's owning the past versions of ourselves. We once doubted and felt. Shame around. It's turning self doubt into something softer, into permission, into acceptance. We all have a version of that doubt that looks like Groundhog Day, and some days we can reframe that self-doubt.

We can move through it, we can live with it. And then there are other days where it just knocks the wind out of us. So I wanted to make something we can come back to on those days. Not something that turns off the self-doubt or distracts us from it, but something that makes us feel so grounded and rooted that we can move with the self-doubt in a way that feels more intentional, powerful, like it's there, but it's not gonna keep us from continuing down the path we're on now.

You can do this right away with me, or you can save it for a day when you need it the most. Let's begin.

Now take a moment to settle wherever you are, whether you're sitting at your desk, walking through your neighborhood, or looking to start the day tapping into that safe, powerful space inside of you. Let your shoulders drop, unc unclench your jaw. Loosen the parts of your body that are still trying to hold it all together.

Let your breath come in without force. No need to fix it. Just notice it

Now, this isn't about clearing your mind or pretending you're fine. It's about being with yourself, honestly, fully. Even if today that version of you feels unsure. Even if you're not in the mood to be strong, start here. Feel the ground underneath you. The way your body is supported by the floor, the chair, the rhythm of your steps.

Notice that your health, even when your mind is spiraling, your body knows how to stay. Now breathe with me in through the nose.

Hold for three

and exhale through the mouth.

Let's do that again into the nose.

Hold for three.

Exhale

now. If you feel self-doubt today, let it sit with you. You don't need to push it away. Notice the thoughts. Name them for what they are. Self-doubt, often trying to protect you. Trying to keep you from a wrong step, from too much change, from feeling unsafe, maybe even trying to keep you from success because it's unfamiliar.

Let it be there. This isn't about fighting the doubt, it's about anchoring into something steadier, something that's been with you longer. So let's find that.

Now think back to a moment, a real one where you almost backed out but didn't. Maybe it was small, a job posting, you almost didn't apply to an opportunity. You debated to pass on a decision that felt like it was gonna shake up your whole life and career. Maybe it was a moment you decided. To leave a situation or start something new saying yes to a version of you, no one else had met yet.

Picture that version of you. Maybe they were nervous. Maybe they were spiraling too, but they moved. They did the thing, and now you're here. Can you thank them not for being perfect, but for being brave in their own quiet way. They didn't wait until the doubt was gone, and that counts for something. It let you to where you are today, now shift forward.

Imagine your future self. Looking back at you right now, in this moment, this very spiral, you're in this quiet almost before something big. What would they say to you in real words? Maybe they'd say, you are not lost. You are building. Or, trust me, you are more ready than you think. Or maybe they'd say nothing.

Just smile knowingly.

They remember this moment as the one that changed everything. They don't speak to you with that same doubtful voice. They speak with compassion because they can see what you can't see just yet. Let that land

now one layer deeper. Ask yourself this, what am I anchoring into today? Not your to-do list, not someone else's timeline. Not the pressure to prove something, but something deeper. Something that studies you maybe anchoring today is remembering I don't need to certainty to move. I'm allowed to take up space in this version of me.

I move. With doubt not under it. I am building something real. Even if no one claps yet, I trust the part of me that keeps showing up. Find an anchor. You can keep coming back to something that feels true to you, something you actually believe in. Repeat it once or twice, gently let it land where it needs to.

And then slowly take one more deep breath in

and out

and come back to wherever you are sitting, walking, standing.

Now, if you need to return to this, save it. Keep it close. There's more. Coming soon around, shifting your inner voice and anchoring, grounding yourself to lay the foundation for those big shifts and career goals you have. For now, let this be enough and remember this groundhog style, self-doubt, and the spiraling doesn't mean you're not ready.

More often than not, it means that you are, and this ability to ground yourself, to anchor into something that feels true and uplifting, to catch a thought and shift it, that might just be the real career skill, the one that leads you forward. I hope you enjoyed this little bit of a different episode.

Please let me know what you think and I'd love to hear if you enjoyed this. Either way, thank you for being here and I'll see you next time.