Get your sh*t together
I’m Claire Ackers, I help female entrepreneurs learn authentic self-mastery.
I say this all the time, and I got challenged the other day – “sounds good Claire, but what the hell is authentic self-mastery?”
Good question.
For me, it means:
You have a bold, audacious vision for your business
You're authentically visible
You have claimed your space
You're the Queen Bee of your business
You take Inspired Action towards your goals
Mindset Mastery is your no. 1 focus
And it’s the mindset mastery that’s our focus for today.
Limp Mode
A few years ago, I traded my reliable 4x4 for a pre-loved VW camper van named Nelly, the money pit. During a trip to Cornwall at Easter, the engine warning light came on, and the van went into "limp mode." This mode shuts down all non-vital functions, reducing power to a minimal level just to get you where you need to go. That's how a lot of people feel right now – just limping towards the finish line, trying to get through each day.
Let’s take a look at what’s going on.
The summer holidays are looming, school events are piling up, and the admin is overwhelming. If you have kids, the next question is, "What do I do with them for six weeks?" For those without kids, other people's children are still affecting your work. Scheduling anything in July is a nightmare, and clients often want to push things to September, which doesn't help cash flow.
Yesterday, for example, I had two sports days, won the mom's race, attended two school discos, managed piano lessons, dealt with lost property, and handled teacher presents. The class WhatsApp had to be muted because the constant stream of messages was invasive. When kids do break up, there's the inevitable question of how to keep them occupied for six weeks while managing a business. My husband and I, both self-employed, rely on a detailed, color-coded chart to keep track of everything.
And taking a holiday? Here’s a confession: I haven’t booked ours yet
If you’re running a business, it’s really tricky to take that time off. Yes, of course it’s important, yes, you need self-care, but let’s just acknowledge it’s not as simple as booking annual leave with HR
You need to schedule social media, cram things in the week before you go, and the week after. By time you get there you’re frazzled and need half the time off just to come down from the stress of leaving the office
And then you get ill.
Then there’s all the external stuff: The Euros, the recent general election in the UK, the cost of living crisis, and global unrest contribute to a sense of uncertainty and heightened emotions.
So what’s the result?
Overwhelm
Burn out
Feeling frazzled
Fear
Panic
Procrastination
Seeing negativity and insurmountable obstacles everywhere
Making things happen
All this may be true YET how you respond to these set of circumstances is EVERYTHING
My favourite question is ‘What are you making it mean?’
What narrative, what story, what meaning are you attaching to this situation?
I’ve been in business 9 years. I’ve got grey hairs and wrinkles from having weathered a fair few storms.
The thing that has kept me going is developing a bulletproof mindset - choosing to know that I’m okay, no matter the circumstances, and choosing how I respond to adversity.
This is the most valuable thing I teach my clients too.
Getting your sh*t together
Let’s look at my top tips for getting your shit together, so you can not only how to rise to the challenge and get everything done that you need to, but how to develop a bulletproof mindset so that whatever is going on externally, doesn’t even touch you.
Ask yourself the question: What am I making it mean?
What narrative, what story, what meaning am I attaching to this set of circumstances? Once you have that, ask yourself: Is believing that narrative, that story, going to take me towards my vision, or away from it? Nine times out of ten, it's going to take you away from that vision. Then the question becomes: Okay, now that I'm aware of that, what could I choose to believe instead? What narrative, what story, what state can I get myself into that supports the life and business I'm creating?
Many people internalise outside problems, concluding that it is their fault and giving it some sort of negative meaning—impostor syndrome, feeling wrong, stupid, or unequal to the task. The most valuable advice I can give you is to choose another story. Choose a story that fits the narrative you want to create. Become the guardian of your thoughts. I was teaching this just yesterday in my Imposter to Impact course—you've got to become a curious observer. Treat your mind like you're a mad scientist, observing your thoughts in a Petri dish. Detach from your thoughts and know that they are not your truth. If you can do that, the world is absolutely your oyster.
Visualise
I talk a lot about negative thoughts and how your mind cannot perceive the difference between a real and a perceived threat. If your imposter is triggered, if you're worried about something, if you're feeling rejected or scared, that fear becomes real and your body and mind react accordingly. You get all the physical symptoms—feeling sick, crying, sweaty palms, the blood redirecting around your body, needing to have a nervous wee—all that stuff. You get the mental symptoms as well: Hyperfocus, black-and-white thinking, where you can't think creatively anymore.
That's the negative side. However, and this is so exciting (well, I think it's exciting anyway), your mind also can't tell the difference between a real state of bliss, joy, and abundance and a visualized state of bliss, joy, and abundance. If you can develop a practice of visualization, you can literally change your state. Your mind, thoughts, and body will follow suit because they can't tell the difference between a real and a visualized positive state. Get yourself into that state. I literally spend five minutes in the shower each morning stepping into the energy of what I want to create that day. Your body and mind will believe that is the truth and follow suit. Try it and let me know if it works for you.
Develop a rock-solid ritual
I use the word ‘ritual’ intentionally because what a lot of people have is a routine. They think, "Right, I've listened to a meditation, I've written a gratitude journal, I'm good." That can become boring and meaningless. If you have a ritual, it's intentional and meaningful. If you can develop a ritual that works for you, it is your best defense against the downward spiral of negativity and the bombardment of overwhelm and external chaos.
My ritual is: I wake up at 6 am, immediately do some tapping and mindset work (EFT, tapping). There are loads of free videos available on YouTube or Insight Timer. Sometimes I do a meditation instead, but it's always something to change my energy, change my state, and raise my vibration to where I want it to be. Then I journal for 20 minutes—sometimes it's a gratitude list, sometimes it's noting down my thoughts and changing them into that positive state. After that, I go into my ice tub. I appreciate that it's not for everybody, but it is a game-changer for me. The cold water changes your physiology and forces you to be present. It cuts out all the chatter and gives me absolute clarity about what I need to do and focus on.
Having that ritual is absolutely gold because I know that whatever is going on out there, I have that practice to return to. This practice—daily essential standards, or DEZ, as we call them inside my community—can make the world your oyster.
Focus on the glimmers
Often, we focus on the negative stuff, what's wrong, what's rubbish out there. If you can focus on the glimmers—the signs, the specs, the synchronicities from the universe—they are out there, I promise you. There are 85 million bits of information passing through your sphere every day. The positive glimmers are absolutely out there; you just need to consciously choose to focus on them. If you can do that, everything will seem possible because what you focus on will grow.
Take inspired action
Don't just moan—do something about it. Take action to change your circumstances. I know it's hard and it can sometimes feel like you are the lone voice, the only one trying to do something differently. Taking inspired action is about connecting to who you are at your core, connecting to your inner voice and inner wisdom, and then taking relentless, unapologetic inspired action that feels good. Remember, what you focus on grows, and that's where the momentum comes from.
So those are my five top tips for getting your shit together. Have I missed any? Let me know what has particularly resonated with you.
Remember -what you focus on grows