My thought life was a mess! I had huge issues with self-doubt and even bigger confidence issues. This would often times be contradictory to how I presented myself as it would appear that I was a very confident individual.

Upon further reflection, I can see that I cared far too much of what other people thought about me, which would paralyse me with fear and lead me into a trap. 

Before I ever made a decision I would have to gather together an army of people to get their opinion but they also had trembling knees under the table.

I’d end up doing things I didn't want to in my heart of hearts. So you could say, I was a huge people pleaser.

I just couldn’t get past the feeling of being judged or criticised. I was in a mental prison.

Now don't get me wrong, it is important to seek advice and feedback, and there is safety in a multitude of counsellors, but there is also balance to everything. Relying too much on other people's advice, especially advice that doesn't come from a reliable source, is detrimental to your business and personal life.

So we need to be careful, who we are seeking advice from. 

I remember before I took the leap of faith to start BIT Healthcare nursing agency, I hesitated a lot in my decision to quit my full time role as a nurse for fear of my family and friends thinking and saying "oh, there she goes again, doing another venture again, why can’t she just settle?". I even used to compare myself to other the nurses who stayed in their role for years (even though they were clearly unhappy in their roles which they moaned about nearly every day).

But there was a fire burning inside me, saying - "there has gotta be more, there has got to be more!".

More often than not, you already know the decision that you need to make, but you struggle with commitment and courage, you feel that you just need someone to validate your decision. The problem with this is, the other person could be basing their advice on their own fears and anxieties and could end up leading you in the wrong direction.

Clearly, the hesitancy in my decision making were false alarms because within 6 months of trading our business went from 0 to six figures so I had access to much more financial resources running this business than I was working long 12 hour shifts, plus I was a million times more satisfied and fulfilled having the freedom to focus on my growing family, which was my priority.

We need to start identifying negative thoughts as foreign invaders in our mind, they are imposters and intruders that want us to stay in a certain place of stagnancy rather than encouraging us to step out of our comfort zone and live a prosperous life. 

Through my nursing agency business, I was able to serve so many more people in a more effective way versus staying on the ward. I could ensure service users were getting the quality care they needed through becoming apart of the supply chain and providing them with experienced and compassionate care staff who I could personally vet. In addition, I was now responsible for ensuring salaries were paid on time so families were able to put food on their tables and pay their bills. 

Here are some key points to remember when making decisions:

Making a decision is better than indecision.

Be careful who you seek advice from, ensure they are a trusted source. 

You know more than you think, let the peace inside you govern your decisions. 

If you make a decision, and get it wrong, well at least you tried, pick yourself up and try again and this time you will be more resilient and hopefully more wiser too.

Take a step today towards launching that business idea you have, it might not work, but then it just might work - what have you got to lose?