We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Jennifer Underwood a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Jennifer, so great to have you with us and we want to jump right into a really important question. In recent years, it’s become so clear that we’re living through a time where so many folks are lacking self-confidence and self-esteem. So, we’d love to hear about your journey and how you developed your self-confidence and self-esteem.
Building confidence has to do with what we tell ourselves. Henry Ford once said “If you think you can or you think you can’t, you’re right.” What this means is that your thoughts create your results. This is the great news because you have the power within you to change any limiting belief you have into a belief that actually serves you. There are areas in our lives where our doubt, fear, and worry can distract us from our goals, our vision and ultimately interfere with us taking action in the direction of our dreams. Let me give you a simple 3-step process on how to increase and deepen your confidence. First, when you find yourself feeling doubt, worry, or fear take a deep breath and just notice what you are noticing. Noticing the thoughts you are thinking is the first step in interrupting the frequency of a thought that no longer serves you. Second, give yourself a confidence booster by identifying the traits in you that you love about yourself. Practice telling yourself an empowering “I am” statement. For example “I am the man or woman who…” and fill in the blank with what it is you would love to be, do, have, give, or create. Write it down, put it in your pocket and read it several times a day. Third, advance confidently with unwavering faith that it is all working out. The easy way to do this is to think to yourself “This is what it looks like while the results I would love in my life are coming together.” So, practice telling yourself things that uplift you. Tell yourself “I have everything I need to take the next positive step in my life” even if you don’t feel like you do. “Today I have time, I have ideas, and the Universe has my answers,” So practice telling yourself ideas that are more empowering and notice your own confidence level increase.
Thanks, so before we move on maybe you can share a bit more about yourself?
I believe that we are each far greater and contain more potential than any circumstance, situation, or condition. I created Redefining Inheritance as a process for my own personal healing and growth. Over the years, my coaching business has evolved to serve as a platform to bring even greater awareness to individuals feeling stuck in a perpetual cycle of struggle, frustration, and overwhelm. Through our Dream Building and Life Mastery programs, our clients now feel even more confident in their ability to create a life they love.
Just like we all have a unique thumbprint, we also have a unique soul print. Why this is important to you, is because you might be a person who has tried everything and none of it seems to be working. You might be a person who believes that what you dream of is possible for others but not for you. I help my clients follow a proven, reliable, and repeatable system of transformation and success so that they can live in alignment with their own soul’s purpose. I believe that the more people who live with clarity and take intentional steps towards their dreams the more confident they become in themselves. The ripple effect of living your life on purpose is that those around you will want to know what you are doing differently so that they can do the same as you.
There is so much advice out there about all the different skills and qualities folks need to develop in order to succeed in today’s highly competitive environment and often it can feel overwhelming. So, if we had to break it down to just the three that matter most, which three skills or qualities would you focus on?
My love of learning, my openness to ask for help, and my desire to develop a relationship with a Higher Power. One of my favorite quotes from my mentor is “Inspiration without action is merely entertainment.” How I apply this to my life is everytime I learn something new I make a decision to experiment with it. Everyday is an opportunity to learn something new, put it into practice, and overtime notice the results in your life. The second skill I have developed over time is the openness to ask for help. Now help shows up in different ways. It can be during a challenging time, it can be hiring an assistant or outsourcing a task someone else is more skillful to do. What this allows is for me to focus on my zone of genius, be of even greater service to my clients, and ultimately a happier woman, wife, mother and friend.
Finally, one truth I have come to accept is this: We are spiritual beings having a human experience. Developing a relationship with a higher power, call it God, Goddess, Universe, Spirit, Creator of all that is, the truth is there is one energy that we are all connected to. This energy expresses itself by means of ourselves. At first, this did not make much sense to me. Once I made the decision to commit to staying in the study all sorts of things started to happen. I was introduced to a new way of thinking. Why this is important to you is because you can begin to recognize the part of you that wants to play small and the part of you that wants to move forward. So the next time that you have a thought like “I don’t have what it takes to be successful” pause, take a breath and say “A part of me feels that I don’t have what it takes to be successful. The other part of me is building confidence.”
A practical way to implement this strategy is to do what you can, with what you have, from where you are. This is what many folks refer to as baby steps. Everyday you can have one idea and take one inspired action in the direction of your dreams.
For those who are interested in expanding their awareness and discovering solutions to what may feel like life’s greatest challenges, my advice is to stay curious, practice stillness, and find a group of people who you feel energetically and spiritually connected with, so together you can stay in the study and become partners in believing for your dreams and your vision to live a life you love.
What is the number one obstacle or challenge you are currently facing and what are you doing to try to resolve or overcome this challenge?
A business challenge I am facing right now is growth. I am thrilled for this challenge because I get to hire more support, serve more clients, and make an even greater impact. Over the years I have learned to be willing to be uncomfortable in the interest of growth. The thought of “how am I going to handle ‘this’?” has become a favorite thought for me because it means I am on the growing edge of my own becoming. It means I am on the right track to achieving my goals, my vision and my dream to live a life I love. Challenges are just opportunities for solutions, support, and service. So next time you feel the lack of confidence in your ability to overcome a challenge remember you have everything you need within you. Allow yourself to ask the Universe for guidance, for insight, and for the right next step to take. If anything feels like a failure or a mistake, replace that thought with “This is what it looks like while it all comes together.” That is the one statement that helps me stay the course and not give up on my dream.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.redefininginheritance.com
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100088063863803
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jennifer-underwood-lehman/
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@CoachJLeh/videos
