If you’re like me (and a lot of other entrepreneurs I know) there’s one major thing holding you back from accomplishing ALL of the things you know in your heart you’re capable of: You!

You know I’m right.

It’s probably when you listen to your inner mean girl that tells you that you aren’t good enough, you’re out of your league, people are going to think you’re self-absorbed or greedy, blah blah blah… that you pause and hesitate.

Maybe you spend precious time on small tasks that feel safe while you shy away from the big, scary things that might actually help you grow your business. Or maybe you just spot right in your tracks, paralyzed, unable to do anything at all. Eventually, you may even lose sight of the reasons why you started your business in the first place.

It can turn into a pretty damaging pattern pretty quickly and before you know it you’re on a slippery slope of negative, bad feelings. Meanwhile, at the bottom of that slope is your business, which is like a car stuck in the mud, spinning its wheels and going nowhere.

It’s SO painful.

I know because I was stuck in the muck for many years. All of the negative thoughts that were on repeat in my head were affecting me in ways I couldn’t even see. Deep down, I started to  believe all of those negative thoughts. That meant I didn’t believe in my own abilities. I didn’t believe I could be successful. And my business, well, it was destined to flop, too. Needless to say, that’s not very motivating. Though I was working SO hard, I didn’t put effort into the high-risk, big-reward things (because why bother!?).

It became a self-fulfilling prophecy because I couldn’t get anyone else to believe in what I was doing either. I was exhausted, depleted, disappointed in myself, and broke, too.

Potential clients could sniff out my insecurities from a mile away. If I didn’t believe in what I was doing, why on earth should they? They took their money and ran the other direction.

My Ah-Ha Moment!

The realization that my thoughts were keeping me from having the business and life I desired was a turning point for me.

Once you know what is holding you back, you can go into troubleshooting mode and FIX IT! When that thing is YOU, well, you realize just how powerful, how strong, how badass you really are. There are a lot of things in this world that you really can’t change, but you CAN change YOU. How liberating is that?

When I flipped the script in my head and started talking to myself the way I would talk to a girlfriend who was following her heart and her passions, everything got so much easier.

Positive affirmations are one of the most effective tools I found to help me to change those harmful thought patterns into thoughts that would inspire me and, more importantly, radiate confidence and purpose instead.

Whenever I catch myself slipping back into my old pattern of playing small, I thank myself for being aware. (I’m careful not to beat myself up for trying to choose a safe option.) Then I close my eyes and think of a positive affirmation that resonates in that moment instead.

It turns out more people want to hire someone who’s giving off positive energy--WAY more people. And they’re willing to pay more for it, too.

Positive affirmations are kind of a slippery slope, too. But it’s more like a really fun water slide that curves up at the end, launching you high up the air before you splash into a crystal clear pool of abundance.

How to Find a Positive Affirmation That Works for You

Here’s how to find a positive affirmation that will help you overcome your inner critical voice:

• Identify a negative thought pattern that’s holding you back. One that comes up for me a lot is, “I don’t know enough about this to move forward..” (Cue hours and hours spent reading blog posts, watching YouTube videos, and making lists of things I need to do instead of taking ACTION). If nothing comes up for you, sit quietly for 5 minutes to see what comes up, then get a blank sheet of paper and write, write, write, until something reveals itself to you.
• Ask yourself, Is this even true? [Spoiler Alert!: It’s usually not.] Let’s take my example from earlier When I believe my negative thoughts, I find myself researching things that confirm what I already know, when my time would be better spent just DOING the thing that my intuition is guiding me to do.
• Find proof. Write down at least 1-3 reasons why your negative thought is NOT true. Mine is: “I have everything I need to make a giant success of (insert big, scary thing).” FYI, this is good positive affirmation to combat another negative thought that holds me back a lot, too -- feelings of lack.
• The positive thought that resonates with you most is your positive affirmation. Voila!

I think my affirmation to myself every time a limiting belief pops into my head. Sometimes I write it down on a sticky note and leave it in a visible place on my desk (or even my bathroom mirror). Sometimes I say it out loud or use it like a mantra when I meditate.

But having a positive affirmation top of mind always helps me to trust myself more, tap into my inner creativity and intuition, ups my productivity, solve problems more effectively, and TAKE THE NEXT STEP. To me, that’s what being an entrepreneur is ALL about.

About Erica Rodefer Winters

Erica Rodefer Winters is a Charleston prenatal yoga teacher on a mission to help pregnant and new mamas find more balance through yoga, mindfulness, self-care, community, and humor. (If you're a mindful mama, please check out her YouTube channel for free yoga videos and join her free Facebook group!) She's also a trained journalist and editor. Visit SpoiledYogi.com to read more of her writing and see her local teaching schedule.