Blog
Insights from Ann-Marie Flinn, Champion Change Agency Founder
What I Wish I'd Known About Self-Limiting Beliefs Before the Hard Years
No one sits down, looks in a mirror and decides they’re not good enough. Self-limiting beliefs become real to us over time, when they’re not named and challenged. It’s the thought patterns that happen in the background that become the reality we live in. A self-limiting belief is an internalized story about what you're capable of, what you deserve, or what's realistic.
Courage Comes Before Confidence
In the many years I’ve been supporting women in leadership, I continue to notice something that I think we should talk about.
So many women I work with are highly competent. They have the skills, the experience, the answers, AND…they don't always trust themselves to use them fully.
I call this the Confidence vs Competence Gap.
The Hidden Cost of Playing Small Right Now
75% of female executives report imposter syndrome, compared to 33% of men. Lean In's 2024 research found that 60% of women stay silent in meetings specifically to avoid being perceived as aggressive.
There is a pattern behind all of this, and I call this the Confidence vs Competence Gap.
The Four Stages of Learning: Why Getting Uncomfortable Is Part of the Process
The four stages of learning is a model that explains why growth feels uncomfortable, why that discomfort is not a warning sign, and what is actually happening in your brain and behaviour when you push past the edge of what you already know. Understanding this model changes how you experience the process of becoming more capable at anything, whether that is a new skill, a new role, or a new way of thinking about yourself.
What Is the Inner Critic? How to Recognize the Voice That's Getting in Your Own Way
You have probably heard the term "Inner Critic" before. What most people have not had explained to them is why it gets loudest at exactly the moment you can least afford to second-guess yourself, before the big meeting, the ask, the decision that actually matters. This post is about learning to recognize it before it makes another decision for you.