Blog — Melody Woolford Coaching

How to Let Go of Imposter Syndrome and Shine

Many start-up entrepreneurs face daily challenges to their self-confidence.

A frequent one is imposter syndrome (also known as imposter phenomenon or experience since it isn’t a mental disorder), generally defined as a psychological pattern in which an individual doubts their skills, talents, or accomplishments and has a persistent internalized fear of being exposed as a "fraud.”

As an entrepreneur we wear multiple hats a day, frequently charting new territories. This can be both exciting and nerve racking…

Talk To Yourself Like Someone You Love

Be your own best friend and watch yourself soar!

I ran a half marathon this past weekend in Newport, RI. When my body got tired the last few miles of the race, it was easy to beat myself up for not training even harder. I “knew” better. I could easily have spiraled into negativity and victimhood. Instead, I…

Mental Fitness, Self-care, Thought ManagementMelody WoolfordOctober 12, 2021Mental fitness, Thoughts

Stress Busting Tip

How often do you worry about something only to realize later that it wasn’t worth your time and energy? Take a few minutes to ponder this.

When I ask people this question, most people say the worry was rarely worth their time. With hindsight, we often recognize that worrying about these situations didn’t add any value and in many cases just made our responses to the situation less productive.

One trick I like to use when I feel worry creeping in is to ask myself the following questions:

Mental Fitness, Thought Management, Work ProductivityMelody WoolfordSeptember 21, 2021Mental fitness, Stress

Guilt Can Be a Useful Signal

Have you been experiencing guilt and don’t know what to do about it? Here are three steps you can take to address it.

Thought Management, Work ProductivityMelody WoolfordAugust 31, 2021Guilt, Feelings, Thoughts

Scaling the Mountains of Your Life with Success

The same goes for the “mountains” of life. I want to have the capacity to respond to life’s great challenges with a positive mindset rather than a negative one. I don’t want to huff and puff and be miserable along the way. I want to have the mental fitness to handle whatever I choose to take on with confidence and courage.

From Stress to Success: Mental Fitness is the X-Factor

Do you have a lot of stress and overwhelm in your life? Maybe endless to-do lists, difficult colleagues and family that drives you up the wall? Do you crave more calm, ease and fulfillment in your work and personal life?

I hear you and you aren’t alone. I’ve been there and have successfully transformed my life to regularly create more peace and happiness. You can too.

I’d like to invite you to join my next 8-week Mental Fitness group coaching program where you’ll dive into how to identify what's weighing you down and how to show up as your best self.

3 Ways To Get Unstuck

Have you set a big goal, then quickly gotten overwhelmed by the grandness of it and remained stuck? I think most of us can relate. Here are three ways to help you get unstuck and successfully working towards your goal.

Accept or Convert to Increase Your Happiness

There are things every day that make you feel stressed or unhappy.

It could be a long to-do-list, a difficult spouse/boss/colleague/child, a traffic jam, a tight deadline, an annoying project, etc. Whatever it is, your inner Judge and Saboteurs keep your hands on the hot stove of negative emotions, making you feel stressed or unhappy about the world around you. Negative emotions are normal but sometimes they suck.

For today, I’d like to invite you to practice activating your inner Sage response by choosing one of two options when these occasions arise.

Transforming Challenges into Growth and Success

One of the biggest gifts the pandemic gave me over the past year was the opportunity to strengthen my mental fitness, i.e., my ability to respond to life’s challenges with a more positive than negative mindset.

There were so many things that didn’t go as planned, things I thought I needed to go a certain way in order to be happy. I was wrong. It turns out the right mindset goes a long way.

Mental Fitness, Productivity, Thought ManagementMelody WoolfordJune 15, 2021

Triggers Can Be Our Teachers

Do you have someone in your life that triggers and upsets you frequently? Someone that makes you want to scream, hiss or run away. Perhaps it’s a boss, colleague, parent, spouse or kid?

You love them, but damn, they get under your skin sometimes.

Next time you get triggered by one of them, ask yourself this question:

Thought Management, Mental FitnessMelody WoolfordMay 18, 2021Thoughts

3 Ways to Boost Your Mental Fitness

Do you easily get hijacked by your emotions when there is a bump in the road or life doesn’t go as planned?

It takes a certain level of mental fitness to respond to life’s challenges with a positive mindset instead of a negative one.

How do you build that resilience? Are you mentally fit enough for life’s curve balls?

Mental Fitness: Enhance Your Performance, Relationships & Peace of Mind

Do you believe physical fitness/wellness is a worthy lifelong pursuit? It affects your memory, overall health, strength, quality of sleep, weight and ability to combat diseases, etc. It’s often a core tenet of self-care these days.

What about mental fitness? Do you give it equal weight?

Mental fitness is the capacity to respond to life’s great challenges with a positive mindset instead of a negative one. It allows you to reduce mental stress, frustration and negative emotions.

Work Productivity, Time Management, Thought Management, Mental HealthMelody WoolfordApril 13, 2021

Your Judge is Not Your Friend

Do you have a voice in your head that constantly finds fault with yourself, others or the circumstances in your life?
It’s pretty normal. It’s part of our physiological negativity bias and survival instinct to scan for danger. The voice pretends to be your friend and has probably “helped” you through some tough physical or emotional situations.

But in the end, the Judge is your number one enemy in life. It impacts your well-being, happiness and success far more than most other things. Why? Because the Judge is the cause of much of our disappointment, anger, regret, guilt, shame, and anxiety.

Thought Management, Mental Health, Work ProductivityMelody WoolfordMarch 16, 2021Thoughts

Tackle Your Imposter Syndrome: 7 Steps

Do you suffer from imposter syndrome sometimes? Are you anxious that you aren’t smart enough, don’t know enough or won’t be able to keep up with your peers? Are you afraid of making a mistake, not knowing the right answer or not doing the right thing? Have you ever felt like a fraud and that people were going to find out? If so, you aren’t alone. I’ve been there and so has around 70% of the population.

But here’s the skinny on imposter syndrome. It’s not an affliction or a genetic predisposition. It’s just a collection of negative thoughts you have about yourself.

Your brain has a bias towards critical self-talk and you’ve gotten in the habit of believing it.

Work Productivity, Thought ManagementMelody WoolfordFebruary 9, 2021Thoughts, Feelings

Be a Witness to Your Negativity Bias

I celebrated my birthday this weekend. I started to announce to myself that I was happy to close the chapter on this year, that it generally sucked. My mind raced through all the annoyances, grievances and missed opportunities. It was easy to think good riddance to 46.

And then I SAW myself. I watched my brain IN ACTION, having a field day with negative thoughts. It raised a big old RED FLAG and I smiled. It was a familiar sight! “Hello negativity bias, I know you well.”

It’s a knee jerk reaction I have, to see the negative things to the exclusion of all the positive aspects of my life.

Can you relate?

Thought ManagementMelody WoolfordFebruary 2, 2021Thoughts, Feelings

Are You a Goal Setter or a Coddiwompler?

Happy New Year! May your 2021 be full of health, love and fulfillment.

Many of you have either set goals, chosen a word/mantra, or set an intention that will be your guide for the year.

Some of you find this stifling and you prefer to coddiwomple your way through the year instead (to travel in a purposeful manner towards a vague destination).

Others like to pray to their Gods or do a combination of the above. The choices and approaches are endless.

There is no right or wrong way to do things. There is only what works for you. It never hurts to experiment and try things on until you find the right fit for YOU.

Work Productivity, Time Management, Thought ManagementMelody WoolfordJanuary 5, 2021Thoughts, Feelings

Increase Your Self-Confidence with These 3 Steps

How self-confident are you? On a scale of 1-10 how would you rate yourself? Is your self-confidence holding you back in any way in your professional or personal life? If so, I have some good news. It's not a gene that some of us are born with, but a muscle you can develop and become skilled in.

Here are 3 steps you can take to build your self-confidence starting today:

Work Productivity, Thought ManagementMelody WoolfordDecember 30, 2020Thoughts, Feelings, Self-Confidence

Self-Confidence Is a Skill Anyone Can Develop

Do you have big dreams you’d love to accomplish, if only you had the self-confidence to go after them?!

People often think self-confidence is an innate gift that a lucky few are born with or that you gain through lots of experience over time.

The truth is self-confidence is accessible to everyone. It is a state of being that is created in your mind and you can start cultivating it right away!

Why? Because it comes from inside you - from your thoughts.

Self-confidence is faith in your ability to learn, try and not give up! It is future oriented. You don’t need to have any evidence from your past that you can do it. You are secure in your ability to figure it out.

Thought Management, Work Productivity, Mental HealthMelody WoolfordDecember 27, 2020Feelings

How to Cultivate the Courage to Pursue Your Dreams

What would you like to achieve in 2021 but feel scared to do?

Are you held back by your fears, waiting around for them to magically disappear someday so you can manifest your dreams?Wish there was a courage pill so you could fast track the process? 😁

Luckily there is a solution: Cultivate courage and take action with fear by your side.

You don’t have to do it alone. I can help you.

Here are 7 steps to get you started:

Thought Management, Time Management, Mental HealthMelody WoolfordDecember 22, 2020Thoughts, Emotions

Are You Future or Past-Focused?

Are you taking control of who you want to be?

Have you asked yourself recently who you want to become? Is your vision limited by what you've achieved in the PAST?

Do you say things like:

I’ve had that issue my entire life.
That’s how I’ve always done it.
That doesn’t work for me. I’ve tried it.

If this sounds like you, you’re most likely defining yourself by stories of your past. You are subconsciously looking for evidence from your past to prove your current belief system and where you are headed.

But your past does not need to dictate your future. You get to decide.

Thought ManagementMelody WoolfordDecember 15, 2020Thoughts, Feelings