Navigating Fear and Judgment to Unlock Growth with Clare Sutton | EP281

Clare Sutton joins us on the Mindset in Action podcast to unravel the mindset barriers that frequently stand in our way. As a mindset coach for small business owners, Clare brings a wealth of experience in dealing with self-doubt, perfectionism, and lack of confidence—common hurdles that can stall business growth. In a candid conversation, Clare opens up about her personal journey, sharing the struggles she faced with self-doubt and fear of judgment. Learn how these challenges impacted her journey and discover the practical strategies she used to overcome them, offering inspiration to those navigating similar paths.

Curious about how to work with your mind rather than against it? Clare shares invaluable insights into clearing the mental blockages that keep you from taking decisive action in your business. Whether you're an entrepreneur struggling to find your voice or someone seeking to understand the power of mindset transformation, this episode is packed with relatable stories and actionable advice. Get a sneak peek into our upcoming Thursday episode, where we'll expand on the world of coaching, discussing its profound impact on personal and professional growth.

Website https://www.claresuttoncoaching.com

Instagram https://www.instagram.com/claresuttoncoaching/

LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/claresuttoncoaching/

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Transcript

Donna Eade: 0:30

You're listening to the Mindset in Action podcast the place to be to grow and streamline your business. I'm your host, donna Eade. Let's jump into the show. Welcome back to the podcast, everybody. For another mini Mindset. Monday I'm your host, donna, and today I am here with Claire Sutton. Welcome to the podcast, claire.

Clare Sutton: 0:57

Thank you so much.

Donna Eade: 0:58

It's so good to be here, donna. I am so excited for this week, guys, because me and Claire have just wrapped up our Thursday episode and, oh my goodness, it's such a good one. We're going to be talking about the big world of coaching, what it is, what it does, how to find one, why you want one, all of the things. Really really good discussion in there, really important for you to go and listen to, especially if you're considering a coach in the near future. So please do go and listen to that. But before we jump to that, claire, tell everybody who you are and what it is that you do.

Clare Sutton: 1:28

Yeah, so I am Claire Sutton from Claire Sutton Coaching and I am an accredited mindset coach for small business owners. So I help people who are super passionate about their business, want to help people, want to help their clients and customers, but they find that they're being held back in some way from things going on in their mind, whether that be self-doubt, perfectionism, lack of confidence, and all of those things are stopping them from taking the action that they want to in their business. So my role comes in with supporting them to be able to move through those blockages and to be able to work with their minds instead of against it, so that it can really support them in the best way to help move their businesses forward.

Donna Eade: 2:18

Love that. That's so good, and we dive into all of that stuff on Thursday, guys, so do take a listen to that. But today we're here to talk about your mindset, claire. So I feel like I'm going to step into the coaching seat for a minute. Wow, I'm on the hot seat. On the hot seat Because, despite being a coach, you know you can't coach yourself is one of the things that I know to be true.

Donna Eade: 2:41

And also, we're not perfect. So just because you can help people coach with that doesn't mean that you don't have your own mindset blocks that get in the way. So I would love it for you to sort of dive into a mindset block that has kind of kept you stuck, even recently or in the way. So I would love it for you to sort of dive into a mindset block that has kind of kept you stuck even recently or in the past, something that has, like, really put a dampener on it and how you personally dealt with it at that time. Obviously, the best idea would have been to go to a coach and get some help with it, and you might have done that. But you know, what is it that you put in place to help you get through that?

Clare Sutton: 3:16

Yeah, such a big question. There's so many things I could talk about here.

Donna Eade: 3:21

That's why we only ask one question on this episode.

Clare Sutton: 3:32

So, for me, one of the biggest mindset blocks that I've had to really overcome is about my own self-doubt and fear of judgment, which is something that I have. Just it feels like I've just was born. Obviously I wasn't born with it, but it feels like it goes back for as long as I can remember. And really that challenge for me is, you know, like no matter how much I excelled in my studies or my work, my performance, I always felt like I wasn't good enough, that I was always really anxious about how other people would perceive me, and that meant that for years I didn't do I actually just didn't do things that I wanted to do. I didn't speak up when I wanted to speak up. I didn't share my thoughts or my you know contributions, because of that fear of how I might be perceived or my doubt that I wasn't kind of good enough or, up to that certain level, that I needed to be. So I knew, when I started embarking on running a business, that that was something that I really had to find a way through in order to take that action that I wanted for my business. And so what did I try and do? Well, I thought that I needed to change my thoughts and my feelings. So I thought, ok, well, if I'm going to be a successful business owner, I can't be anxious, I can't be worried, I can't have lack of confidence. Confidence, you know, I've got to be fully confident, fully assertive, fully motivated, fully sure, all the time right. And so I was like, okay, so what I need to do is I need to get rid of all of those difficult thoughts and feelings. I need to um, you know, control my thoughts so that I'm only in this one specific mindset, in this one very, very super positive, proactive mindset, and so thinking that I could control my mind. You know, I did lots of things, like writing lists and lists of why I was worthy, why I should be confident. You know, doing daily kind of mantras about trying to tell myself how confident I was. However, that just didn't work, because we are human and having those thoughts of doubt and those kind of inner critical, you know, thoughts and feelings that come in is just part of how we've been evolved and it's part, a natural part, of running a business, a natural part of pushing yourself out of your comfort zone. You know you're going to feel those things, but because in my head I'd made them unacceptable. When they snuck back in again, I felt again it was something wrong with me. You know I've failed again. You know I haven't been able to control them.

Clare Sutton: 6:26

So the real game changer for me with all of this was then realizing that actually, the presence of those difficult thoughts and feelings like self-doubt, lack of confidence, fear of judgment they were not the problem.

Clare Sutton: 6:43

The problem was that I was letting those things control and dictate my actions.

Clare Sutton: 6:52

And so when I learned that I could actually accept and hold those challenging thoughts and feelings and grow the skills to be able to do that and still take the action that I wanted to anyway, despite them being there, that even when I'm not feeling confident, even when I'm feeling doubtful, even when I'm feeling anxious, I can still take the action that I want to for my business and I can still push things forward, that was when everything changed for me and that was like just a big door had been unlocked and it was like a really it was like a weight off my shoulders. It was this huge sense of relief and it meant that I was no longer then. I mean, it's still an ongoing process, it's still something that I'm working through myself, but it meant that I no longer was being held captive by my thoughts and feelings, that I wasn't fighting with myself all the time, I wasn't having those constant internal battles with my mind all the time, and that I was treating myself with a lot more humanity and a lot more self-compassion.

Donna Eade: 8:00

And just yeah, that then really had a lasting impact for for me, and it still does yeah, and guys, you have to, you have to go and listen to um Thursday's episode, because everything that you just said there about how you kind of reframed it is, it's tinkling in my ears that I'm like, oh, the book that she read, the book that she read and how she coaches I was, was like I see it, I see it as everything's linked. Yeah, yeah, you'll have to come back and listen and if you see those Easter eggs, you'll have to pop them in the comments. Let me know that you made the connection too. I really love the way you describe that, because I think, with these mindset episodes, part of the main reason that I like to share them is because I want other business owners to know that they're not alone with suffering, with the self-doubt, the inner critic, the imposter syndrome, the fear of judgment and all of that jazz.

Donna Eade: 8:59

But something you said there was really important for people to hear, so I want to repeat it, and that is that the idea is not to rid yourself of those feelings. You can't just make them disappear, and I think oftentimes that is exactly like you did. Many of us feel that we need to just squash those. They're not serving us, they need to go away and it takes me back to. Obviously I've had some coaching and we have Viv come and do the Mini Mindset Mondays on this channel, as she talks a lot about fear being the thing that stops and gets in the way. But it's part of your body's way of protecting itself.

Donna Eade: 9:38

So, you know, for you not going out and starting with any of those things, all of that self doubt, inner judgment, was trying to protect you from potential rejection and so it was doing you something. It was doing something for you. But it's realizing as an adult that actually, okay, I hear you, I understand, but I'm safe. A saber-toothed tiger is not after me. Understand, but I'm safe. Saber-toothed tiger is not after me. I can do this and if I fail, I will pick myself up and get and get on with it. It is okay and being able to reframe that. So I so appreciate you sharing it and sharing it in the way that you did, because that really sort of hit home for me and I hope it did for the listeners as well absolutely.

Clare Sutton: 10:22

I couldn't have said it better myself.

Donna Eade: 10:24

Yeah okay, guys. So that is it for our mini mindset Monday. As I said, claire is back on Thursday talking all about coaching how to find yourself a good coach, why you might need one, what coaching is in the first place. If you're thinking well, you know, everybody's calling themselves a coach. I don't really know what a coach is. We talk all about that on Thursday, so come back and listen to that one. All Claire's details will be in the show notes, so please do go and connect with her and we will see you on Thursday.

Clare Sutton: 10:52

Bye for now.