Whether or not you celebrate Thanksgiving (I know many of you don't live in the U.S. or choose not to), I find the week opens up an opportunity for togetherness and a reminder of what we have to be thankful for - gratitude - which remains one of the most powerful tools for mindset, rewiring your mind, and shifting your focus and attention towards what’s working in business for sustained, long term results.
Whatever your current success and income, do you ever look back at your past and thank yourself for showing up the way you did along your entrepreneurial journey?
It’s important to thank yourself for ALL of it. Even the “failures” and uncomfortable moments.
Here’s why:
Once you’re able to take a moment and look back at those challenging times with gratitude, you start to see and reinforce your resilience and your grit.
You remind yourself that you’re stronger than you give yourself credit for.
You realize that you did the best you could with what you had and it brought you here - and made you stronger in the process.
You have evidence for how those “failures” and challenges worked out for you and gave you tools you now use or opened you in business to something even better.
Then, when new challenges arise in the present or the future, you have the mindset that things are always unfolding in your favor. You’re able to see them as an opening to create space for something new, something better, something bigger, as all in support of the thing you’ve been manifesting for your business and your life.
You’re able to see how “bombing” gloriously on a sales call helped you hone your skills to be able to book future, right fit paying clients…
…or how being willing to commit to your mindset work and believe in yourself and your business over and over again before there was any real evidence it was working led to trusting yourself, staying in your process until your “pop” moment, and an overflowing bank account…
…or how your “messy” and nerve wracking first few livestreams led to showing up regularly, building the know, like, trust online, and in turn set you up to get fully booked and make your first $10k then $20k cash month…
…or how navigating that sticky money conversation with a client who was wanting to bail helped you learn how to hold boundaries, advocate for your business and work, and get paid.
Your past self is evidence that you can handle anything moving forward, and that there is more waiting for you on the other side of discomfort. Whether that “more” looks like greater income, impact, or both in business, gratitude for the “past you” is how you set yourself up for future success.
One of my favorite practices is to spend some time practicing gratitude for “past Kim” and to write out all the ways I’m thankful to her and for her for showing up, being willing to suck or work through the suck, and all the various ways I’m grateful for her.
Sometimes I list this all out like a traditional gratitude list, other times I’ll write her a thank you note and love letter.
I encourage you to give this form of gratitude a try, what can you thank your past self for today?
What can you love on your past self for?
And, if you want to take this a step further, what will your future self thank your present self for? How can you love on yourself today for those very actions?
Because I know there’s so much to thank your past self for, and I also know your future self will thank you for all the ways you’re willing to show up, get uncomfortable, and grow today.
Wishing you your version of success!
P.S. Know your future self will thank you for betting on yourself and your business today and investing in the right support that will help you get - and stay - out of your own way and get clear on the specific strategy that works for you so you can make moves in your business, take up more space, build momentum, and make six and multi-six-figures on your terms?
Book a free coaching consultation here to talk about how I can help you with the clarity, mindset, strategy, and action that goes into growing and scaling a business that pays you the kind of money and gives you the kind of life your future self can’t wait to thank you for!