Sheri A. Bell, ICF Certified Life & Leadership Coach | Mentor | Sage
I work with individuals who have decided to exit the “cages” sabotaging their desired success.
I once received an email from a woman in her fifties. “I feel like a bird in a cage,” she shared. “Open the door,” I offered. “I can’t,” she replied, “it’s locked and I don’t have the key.” Her thoughts and feelings had created the “cage” she truly believed she couldn’t exit.
Experts assert that 99% of our daily choices are driven by our subconscious “story” about who we are, what we deserve, and what we can achieve. Trauma stored in our cells (“cell memory”) also shapes our self-identity. To live our best lives, it’s critical that we exam our thoughts and beliefs to root out/replace what has us caged.
Fortunately, we humans are hardwired for resilience. Our brains have “plasticity,” which means we can tweak our perspective, changing our “story” about ourselves and the world by being open to new thoughts and beliefs. We also can learn to sooth our nervous system, to not trigger so easily into fight, flight, fawn, or freeze reactions that sabotage our confidence and success.
To exit your “cage” takes two things: Courage and action. Coaching can help to gain you both, and faster than on your own, because you gain a true partner.
A thinking partner. A belief partner. An action partner. An accountability partner. A transformation partner.
What's "Caging" Your Personal Power?
I’m no longer surprised when successful clients share their struggles with Imposter Syndrome. (Often because as kids their critical or dismissive parent hijacked their self-belief.)
Some of my clients want to feel more confidence as a manager, or to nail it when they’re speaking. Some want to stop being a wallflower at networking events, or to remain calm during difficult conversations. Some want to understand why they struggle with deadlines, or authority, or money. Some want help establishing strong boundaries to say, “Good riddance!” to people-pleasing.
My “cage-free” formula:
Empowering self-identity + nervous system regulation + growth mindset + vision + action + self-accountability = desired goal, dream, or needed outcome.
Rewiring your brain takes tenacity and optimism. Trying to change on our own can feel hard, which is where a coach can be invaluable. A coach can serve as your “external force” as one of my clients puts it, applying the pressure and accountability to nudge you into full momentum. A coach will hold the vision of where you want to be, to support you in reaching it, and be there to celebrate all the milestones in your journey, not just when you reach your destination.
Coaching is one of those “what you put in is what you get out” endeavors. But this I can promise: Do the work — explore your thinking and feeling patterns, challenge your beliefs, take needed action — and you’ll see results, if not life-changing transformation. Even if you’ve tried and failed in the past. You are NEVER stuck. Let’s partner together (perhaps 3-12 months, weekly or bi-monthly) and prove it.
"Sheri doesn't spoon-feed you the answers, and she knows which questions to ask that linger with you. She helped to get me started on changing areas of my thinking that were holding me back." Julie, CEO