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Today I want to review the CreativeLive – How to Break the Habit of Self-Doubt and Build Real Confidence online course by Mel Robbins.
If you are a regular reader here, you’ll know that I’m a huge fan of Mel Robbins.
Like many people, I originally discovered Mel through her TEDxSF talk which at the time of writing this, has over 12 million views!
Her book The 5 Second Rule: Transform your Life, Work, and Confidence with Everyday Courage
You can read my earlier review of the book here.
I recently finished taking Mel’s brilliant CreativeLive online course – How to Break the Habit of Self-Doubt and Build Real Confidence.
Honestly, I loved this course! I got a lot of value out of it and I know it will help to improve my life.
To be completely transparent, when I signed up to be a CreativeLive affiliate, I was told I could take one free course to experience what CreativeLive has to offer.
Without hesitation, I jumped at the opportunity to take Mel’s course.
Let’s dive into how you can benefit from this course, questions you might have, and exactly why I got so much out of it.
Who is the course for?
I think everyone could benefit from this course (because let’s face it, we all struggle with self-doubt at some point) but if you are a creative who struggles with self-doubt it is a MUST.
As a creative, self-doubt can be your biggest barrier to success.
While Mel does occasionally reference creatives throughout the course, you don’t need to be a creative professional to benefit from this course (besides I think we are all creatives in some form, no matter what our job title is).
If you struggle with self-doubt and feel you are ready to learn effective strategies to stop self-doubt from playing havoc in your life, this course will benefit you.
What am I going to get out of this course?
You will get techniques for breaking the habit of self-doubt and building real confidence.
Some of the topics Mel covers are –
- The Imposter Syndrome
- The 4 Traps of Self-doubt (Mel really digs deep into these 4. I definitely think you will be able to relate to them – I know I certainly did.)
- 3 Myths of Confidence (I really enjoyed this one because it takes everyone out of their introvert/extrovert boxes and talks about what confidence is and isn’t about and how you get more of it).
- 2 Strategies to end worry and curb anxiety
- 5 Simple Habits that Build Confidence (There were a few surprises in this lot. Sometimes stuff that you think doesn’t make much of a difference in your life, can actually have a big impact).
There is much more but these particular topics will really hit home.
Personally, I felt energized and empowered after finishing this course but most importantly I felt excited about implementing what I had learned.
This definitely wasn’t a course I would take, forget about and never use again (put it this way, when I woke up this morning, it was the first thing I thought of before diving out of bed ready to tackle my day).
What is the format of the course?
The course is a series of videos that you work through at your own pace. There are 16 modules.
My assumption is that this course was filmed in one day and then broken down into different video modules. The video sequencing is done well so that certainly isn’t a problem.
I recommend watching the course in the set sequence from start to finish. I realize it can be tempting to see a later chapter heading that you think will be really helpful and jump ahead to have a look, but you will get a lot more out of the course if you watch it in the correct order as the modules build on each other.
Of course, once you have paid for the course, you can go back and rewatch modules whenever you choose.
You can also download Mel’s presentation/workbook from the course, so that you can work through the questions and refer back to the course content when you need to.
Make sure you watch the course all the way through and don’t think about skipping the student’s coaching session near the end, there is some really powerful stuff in that section.
Are there actions I can take from this course?
You might be wondering, are there actions I can realistically take from this course, or is it just someone talking at me about what has worked for them?
Yes, there are actions. Absolutely.
The great part is you can start using what you learn right away.
I started this course over the Christmas break. Since I had a rather challenging Christmas, I was implementing what I had learned about 30 mins after I learned it!
Just a heads up though, like any course you have to do the work if you want to see results. You can’t just take a course, do nothing and expect your life to miraculously improve without you doing anything.
You have to follow through on the actions if you want to break the habit of self-doubt.
You might be wondering – is it fluff?
I thought I would cover this off, just in case you were thinking it!
I get it, this personal growth stuff can sometimes get a bit ‘fluffy’. It’s not like you are building a table where part A goes into part B and so on and you have a coffee table at the end of it.
This course is not fluff. It has actions you can take and strategies you can use and there is science involved (more on that later).
It has habits that you can implement in your life immediately to help build confidence.
You learn that self-doubt is a habit
Self-doubt is a habit and while you might think that sucks, here is the brilliant news.
Habits can be changed. You can stop old habits and form new ones.
Self-doubt is not a part of you, it’s a habit. Self-doubt is something that you do, not who you are.
I found this knowledge extremely liberating.
It deals with this whole ‘feelings’ thing
I think this is one of my favorite parts.
I spent many of my early years being crippled by my feelings. I spent too much time trying to change, stop or numb my feelings. I spent too much time overanalyzing them. I invested huge amounts of energy trying to control them.
Then I felt bad about feeling bad about my feelings.
Seriously, I feel exhausted just typing that!
But after this course, I understand the big game-changer.
Feelings are natural.
We can’t control our feelings.
What we can control are our thoughts and behaviors. We can control our actions.
Your thoughts and behaviors are a choice.
The truth is I’ve been questioning this whole ‘feelings’ thing for a while now (even before I started writing this blog), trying experiments and challenges to get on top of my feelings instead of them getting on top of me.
This course has supplied the missing pieces (which are techniques, strategies, and a better understanding) and now I know exactly what I need to do to stop my feelings from taking over my life.
Mel makes the science easy to understand
This course is about changing the way you think.
It’s about retraining your brain and taking action.
I’ve read a few books that talked about the science of our brains but to be honest they are normally too complicated, boring, scientific, or just too hard to understand.
Mel makes the science component interesting and dare I say it fun!
She doesn’t ram the science down your throat but she weaves it into the conversation so that you know what she is saying is based on science but grounded in actions you can take on a regular basis.
Most importantly it’s something you can actually do and the best part is anybody can do it.
You don’t need a degree or a well-paid job. You don’t have to be super smart. It’s not some fancy club that only takes certain members, anyone can work on breaking the habit of self-doubt.
Mel makes it feel personal
This course is filmed in a room or studio in front of a small group of people.
It’s personal, it’s intimate but the good part is you feel like one of the people sitting in the audience. You feel like Mel is talking to you, not at you.
Mel is very interactive with people in the audience and brings several people forward to talk in front of the group as well as having them speak into a microphone while in the audience.
Mel has obviously researched the audience members’ backgrounds and worked out who she wants to speak to relevant to particular modules.
If I had to find one small fault with this course (and believe me, I definitely had to search hard for a fault) is that during one or two of the sessions with audience members it feels like they are getting off-topic.
In actual fact, they aren’t off-topic, they’re just looking at a different aspect of the topic or talking about it from a different angle which leads to some interesting conversations and insights.
One of the highlights of the course is its spontaneity. Mel has prepared her presentation but the conversations are spontaneous and engaging. It gives the course a very natural feel. It’s structured but not overly so.
Most importantly it’s about real people, like you and me, and the issues they are dealing with.
Mel is honest and open
I love the fact that Mel says it like it is. She pulls people up on their BS (without embarrassing or humiliating them of course). That also applies to her own BS as well.
She isn’t afraid to talk about her own vulnerabilities and mistakes or the fact that she implements the strategies she talks about herself. She walks the talk, which I respect.
I appreciate the fact that she admits that some of the techniques have to be done repeatedly to get the full impact (which makes sense since you are trying to build a new habit and habits require repetition). You don’t just go to gym, do one sit-up, and have an instant six-pack. It takes repetition and I admire that she is upfront about that.
Mel makes personal growth fun
I am a big believer in personal growth having an element of fun to it.
Yes, it can be hard at times but it doesn’t have to be this big drag all the time. Don’t get me wrong there are some serious topics in this course and the audience members open up with some heartfelt stories, but Mel handles it with integrity, compassion, and a good dose of humor.
When you make personal growth both a priority and a fun challenge (and not some horrible chore that you have to do) you will get a lot more out of it.
I laughed out loud through this course several times.
Mel teaches you the ‘how’
A lot of courses no matter what the topic tells you what to do and why you need to do it but they don’t really cover off on the HOW – when let’s face it, the how is the most important part.
This course covers the HOW, so that you can create lasting change in your life.
I got a lot out of this course and I highly recommend it.
I’m going to finish up with a great Mel Robbins quote.
If you have a problem you can be solved with action, you don’t have a problem.”
It’s time for you to break the habit of self-doubt and build real confidence.
Jump onto CreativeLive and sign up for Mel’s Course now.
Make sure you write back to me and tell me how it went and what you thought of the course. Here’s to breaking the habit of self-doubt!
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