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In the 8th grade, my classmates voted me “Most Likely To Succeed.”

I was, as the Brits like to say, chuffed.

As a natural-born cynic, I found the idea of these awards to be pedestrian and superficial. But, surprise, surprise, when I received recognition, my tune magically changed.

It’s like my classmates gave my ego a shot of steroids. 

I continued building on that muscle throughout high school, adding bulk to the part of me that other people perceived as “confident.”

It’s easy for people to assume they know our strengths. 

→ Maegan is so confident!
→ Alex is so successful!
→ Susie is so happy! 

I think it comes from a good place. We see something about another person we admire and just want them to know that we think they are awesome! 

But really…

→ Maegan is riddled with self-doubt.
→ Alex is running from his fear of failure.
→ Susie wakes up every morning depressed.

The truth is that most “strengths” have dark shadow sides—fears, limiting beliefs, and emotional challenges hiding behind the glow of whatever positive trait someone ascribes to you. 

We all have fears and limiting beliefs that challenge us.

But we can’t work with those fears when we feel paralyzed by the stories well-meaning people are projecting onto us.

I used to feel paralyzed by others telling me how confident I was. 

“Maegan, you’re SO CONFIDENT.”

“But… I don’t feel confident. I’m struggling with self-doubt.”

“WHAT?! No way! You’re the most confident person I know!”

“Uh… okay… I guess I’m confident then?” 

Sounds a bit like gaslighting, doesn’t it? 

This positive projection made it hard for me to understand my shadow of self-doubt. We ignore our shadow parts because we’re trying to believe the version others are projecting onto us is accurate.

It’s not an effective long-term strategy.

No matter how hard I tried to be the confident person people kept telling me I was, I continued to struggle with self-doubt. 

In fact, the more I ignored my doubt, the louder it became.

A few years ago, I started correcting people when they projected inaccurate truths onto me.

“You’re so confident; I could never do what you’re doing.”

“Thanks for the compliment, but the truth is, I struggle with self-doubt. It leads to fear and perfectionism. I’m working through it.” 

Sadly, they usually don’t believe me, but that’s fine. I’m not saying it to change what they think about me. I’m saying it to experience the medicine of truth-telling in my own body. 

When I refuse to be pigeonholed by other people’s narratives about who I am, I can be more honest about who I want to be and what is blocking me from becoming that person.

My self-doubt likes to creep in when I’m trusting my intuition, taking bold action, or giving myself permission to slow down.

My work? 

Transform my shadow of self-doubt into deep self-trust.

Here’s what that looks like for me recently… 

My doubt has been rearing its head these past few months. Probably because I’ve been trusting my gut and making bold claims about my vision for this business. 

Specifically, I’ve been telling anyone who will listen that in the next few years, I want the primary focus of this business to be our (very successful) podcast and hosting seasonal Deep Rest Retreats. 

I feel the rightness of that vision in my body, but then, my doubt slithers in from stage left and hisses in my ear, “You’ll never be able to make enough money running retreats… who are you to think you can have a professionally produced podcast… no one cares about your ideas…if you pursue this path, your business will fail…”

Whoaaa. Hold the phone, Beatrice! 

(That’s what I just decided to name my doubt. Feels right.) 

You were not invited to this party, and I need you to remove yourself from the premises with DUE HASTE.

This conversation shows up all the time within my mastermind group. Last week, we talked about things we want to release, and almost everyone named some type of fear or limiting belief.

My enemy is doubt, but other popular choices on the call included: 

→ Shame
→ Fear of failure
→ Perfectionism
→ Fear of being seen
→ Feeling powerless

Today, I want to give you a few simple questions you can use to begin transforming and releasing your shadow parts. 

This is important to me because the only way to be deeply rested and create truly inspired work is to be radically honest with yourself about who you are and what you need to thrive.

When you’re ready, ask yourself: 

• How would people who know you finish this sentence:
  (YOUR NAME) is so ___________.
• What other stories do people project onto you? 
• What are the shadows hiding behind those stories? 
• What fears and limiting beliefs are you struggling with? 
• Who is one person you can tell about your shadow parts?

Don’t hold back as you answer these questions!

If you need someone to witness this with you, hit reply and share your answers with me. I’d love to hear the truth about your multifaceted strengths and struggles. 

Now Beatrice is telling me that I’ve overshared in this newsletter, and you won’t understand how any of this applies to you. So, I’m just gonna wrap this up before I delete it all for no good reason!  

Thanks for reading. Let me know if it resonates.

Did you know that I host a mastermind? 

Probably not, because I have never shared about this one publicly!

In 2023, when I decided to decommission my coaching programs, I invited my current clients to continue working with me as a small group. Over the past year, that group has evolved into something truly beautiful called The Council. 

And now, we’re creating a second group! 

Here’s what I’m envisioning:

1. We meet 2x per month for 6 months—starting around Summer Solstice and wrapping up with a celebration on Winter Solstice. We dive deep during the most productive months of the year before settling into winter hibernation.
2. You’ll get small group support (10 people max) plus 1:1 coaching from me and my business manager, Nancy. Curious about how we approach business? You can hear us talk about it here and here.
3. Each gathering blends ritual (to connect with your spirituality) and personal feedback (think “hot seat” coaching, but with more depth and humanity).

This is for you if:

1. You’re financially secure and not struggling to get clients—your foundation is strong, and you’re ready for something new.
2. Things look fine on the outside, but inside, you feel out of alignment. You’ve done a lot of personal growth, and you want your business to reflect who you are today.
3. You have so many ideas but don’t know where to start.
4. You’re sensitive, spiritual, and deeply craving an intimate community of ambitious entrepreneurs who care about the world as much as you do.

Does this speak to you?

Reply to this email with “I’m interested!” and I’ll send you the next steps.