171: Conquer Your Limiting Beliefs Starting Now w/ Megan Rafuse

It's times like these that cause us to question everything. Anxiety and uncertainty are creativity and self-esteem killers. But it's important to remember that you're more than these fears. Today's guest has some great advice on maintaining a good mindset and creating clarity even as nothing around you makes sense anymore. Megan Rafuse is a co-founder at Shift Collab. She is a mental health innovator focused on helping ambitious leaders believe they are enough as they are. As a therapist and entrepreneur, she works with executives, creatives, athletes, and young leaders to examine their limiting beliefs, challenge their inner imposter voice, and help them build confidence to share their struggles openly. It's actually very common for leaders to think that they aren't good enough. Megan discusses the source of these limiting beliefs. It often comes from a gap in how you view yourself and how others see you. Megan gives some great advice for overcoming this gap in perception. Mostly it comes from recognizing that we'll never reach a point where we know it all. Many of us do a lot of our work in isolation. If this is the case, Megan stresses the importance of having a healthy routine. Building moments of validation into the process will do wonders. Megan recommends setting up markers throughout your workday to signify the progress that you make. Lastly, Megan addresses what I imagine most of us are feeling right now. The stress and anxiety that this global pandemic is causing is widespread. It has affected all of us in many ways. Megan lets us know how to make the best of our feelings to cope with the stress and anxiety in and around us. How do you receive daily validation for the work you do? Tell me in the comments on the episode page!   In this episode Why leaders often hold limiting beliefs What happens when we realize that there is no "finish line" to becoming a leader How to challenge your own thought patterns to deal with your limiting beliefs Why you shouldn't automatically believe everything you think The importance of cultivating a healthy routine that promotes validation of your work Coping strategies for feelings of stress and anxiety   Quotes "As leaders, we're constantly learning, growing, building, and developing new skills. So we never hit a point where we feel like we're done." [12:19] "The best buffer to challenging unhelpful thoughts is the ability to actually start questioning your own thought pattern." [22:16] "Shame is made smaller by speaking up when we feel small." [28:38] "If we are isolated and working on this incredible piece of work, our goal is to say 'what do I do before and after work to help me take care of me'." [33:05] "We are in an unprecedented time. It is safe to say most people are feeling it. We're feeling the uncertainty. Our anxiety is higher. Our stress is high. We know stress and anxiety can kill our creativity. What I want to normalize is that if you weren't feeling stressed or anxious, then your body's mechanism to keep you safe might not be functioning well." [48:16]   Links Find Megan Rafuse online Follow Megan on Instagram "Unlocking Us" podcast with Brené Brown   Additional Links: Check out the full show notes page Do you have something to share on this podcast? Fill out this form here. Be sure to take the Studio Sherpas survey for a chance to win some incredible prizes (if we do say so ourselves!) Stay up to date with everything we're doing at Studio Sherpas Tune in to our weekly Facebook Lives Follow Studio Sherpas on Facebook | Twitter | Instagram If you haven't already, we'd love it if you would take 1 minute to leave us a review on iTunes!