The Courage Mindset: How to Move Forward in Your Career This Year
It’s the beginning of the New Year, which means many of us have set New Year’s resolutions:
Better habits—> Bigger goals —> A new role —> More money —> A fresh start.
Resolutions can be motivating, but they usually focus on the goal we want to achieve. This year, consider focusing less on the goal itself and more on the intention you want to embody as you pursue it. Ask yourself:
How do I want to show up while I’m pursuing my goals?
What mindset do you want to bring forward when things get hard, when motivation fades, or when fear shows up?
I recently posted that my intention for the year is to have more courage when pursuing goals. Not always the BIG, BOLD, DRAMATIC kind. The everyday kind. The kind that helps you take one action in the direction you want to go, even when you’re unsure.
But here’s the thing. Courage doesn’t disappear because of a lack of ability or potential. It gets blocked by something that can go unseen yet shows up relentlessly:
Limiting beliefs.
It’s the story we tell ourselves that feels like truth, but actually keeps us from taking action. It shrinks what we believe is possible and convinces us to play small. It keeps us safely stuck in the familiar even when we want more.
Limiting beliefs don’t protect our future. They protect our comfort. And they rarely serve us.
So as you think about your next career move, now is the time to ask:
What limiting belief is keeping me from pursuing what I really want?
And what would it look like to choose courage instead?
Remember, courage isn’t the absence of fear. Courage is being afraid… and doing it anyway.
Below are five common limiting beliefs I’ve heard coaching clients carry into career decisions, along with practical ways to move forward and get unstuck.
Limiting Belief #1: “I’m not ready.”
This is one of the most common thought patterns I hear from you high-achieving professionals. It almost sounds logical. Almost.
The Reality: It’s just perfectionism hiding under your professional suit.
Readiness isn’t something you find. It’s something you build. Most people don’t feel ready until they’re already in motion.
The Courage Remedy: Define your “ready enough.”
Instead of waiting to feel ready, ask: What would ‘ready enough’ look like for the NEXT step (not the final step)?
Next Actions:
If you see knowledge gaps, don’t let them stop you. In the meantime:
Complete a training, webinar or course to upskill
Set up an informational conversation to learn more about how others filled these knowledge gaps
Raise your hand for a project to apply what you’ve learned to close the gap
Don’t forget to update your resume (even if you’re not applying anywhere) so you see all the awesome things you’ve done in preparation for your next move.
Limiting Belief #2: “I’m not good enough.”
This belief can be the most relentless. It rarely shows up as a loud thought and has the power to stop you in your tracks. It often sounds like “Other people are more qualified,” “I got lucky,” or “What if they realize I’m not as good as they think?”
The Reality: This is just the voice of imposter syndrome.
It keeps your incredible talent hidden and small. You don’t have to feel confident to be capable. Confidence comes after action, not before it.
The Courage Remedy: Collect evidence (not reassurance).
Instead of seeking validation from others to counter your limiting beliefs, focus on the facts. Look for proof in what you’ve already accomplished (i.e., your track record of getting things done) and use that evidence to quiet that voice and move forward with confidence.
Next Actions:
Create an Evidence List and add to it weekly. When that limiting belief shows up, counter it with the truth. Use real examples of what you’ve already done that directly contradict it. Capture things like:
Wins you delivered (big or small)
Problems you solved
Positive feedback you received
Skills you’ve built over time
Moments where you showed courage and took a leap that paid off (and even if it didn’t go the way you planned, what you learned that moved you closer to your goal)
Then when the “I’m not good enough” belief shows up, you have a place to ground yourself in facts.
Limiting Belief #3: “There’s no growth at my organization.”
This can be a very real situation that feels like the choice is taken out of your hands: The structure is flat, leadership roles rarely open up, or the budget too tight. When opportunities aren’t obvious, it feels like you’re stuck waiting.
The Reality: Lack of promotion doesn’t mean lack of growth.
Career growth can still happen through visibility, skill development, strategic experience, etc. And even if your end goal is a more money or title change, building your skills and expanding your impact now increases your chances of landing the opportunity that gets you there.
Courage Remedy: Expand your definition of growth.
Promotion is not the only sign of growth. Sometimes the most meaningful progress is happening behind the scenes that prepares you for what’s next.
Next Actions:
If the “next role” doesn’t exist internally right now, build the proof you’re ready for it anyway:
Seek stretch assignments that expose you to new colleagues, bigger decisions, or broader impact
Ask for more scope (e.g., responsibility, ownership, decision-making authority) to demonstrate your capability
Volunteer to lead a project where you’ll build influence and credibility
Find external growth through a committee, board, speaking opportunity, etc.
Doing something will always get you closer to your end goal than doing nothing.
Limiting Belief #4: “I don’t know what I want yet.”
This is a very honest (and valid) place to be. But it becomes a trap when your uncertainty turns into paralysis instead of clarity.
Ever have a single friend that says “I don’t know what I want yet” because they’re afraid of settling or choosing the wrong person? That uncertainty keeps them stuck in limbo: overthinking every text, overanalyzing every first date, waiting for a lightning bolt moment where they suddenly shout, “This is the one!” But it doesn’t happen that way. They’re not going to “think” their way into clarity. They have to learn through experience: going on dates, noticing patterns, paying attention to what feels like moving in the desired direction.
Career decisions can work the same way.
The Reality: Clarity isn’t something you think your way into.
You don’t always find clarity by sitting still and waiting for lightening to strike. You find it by exploring opportunities of interest and taking small steps forward, learning as you go.
The Courage Remedy: Stop trying to pick the perfect next step and experiment.
Turn this limiting belief into an experiment where you treat it as a series of small tests that can prove a hypothesis (e.g. a potential career path). You’re not committing forever; you’re just collecting data.
Next Actions:
Write down all the paths you’re curious about and would like to pursue. Try one of these “clarity experiments” for each of these paths to learn more:
Shadow or interview someone in a role you’re interested in
Volunteer with an organization that lets you explore interests outside your current job
Take a class that builds a skill you keep circling back to and see if you actually enjoy doing it
Work with a coach who can help you turn the outcomes of these experiments into a plan
You don’t need the whole map laid out. You just need the next two turns.
Limiting Belief #5: “It’s too late for me.”
This is almost never true. Hard stop. Yet it’s often the stickiest to overcome.
If this limiting belief is showing up, it’s usually carrying something underneath it (e.g., regret, guilt, fear, disappointment) about not moving sooner.
The Reality: Your timeline is not a measure of your potential.
A pivot at 30 isn’t “better” than a pivot at 45 (and I may be speaking from experience here!). A reinvention later in your career isn’t “too late.” It can be driven by clarity and wisdom you didn’t have earlier.
And comparing yourself to others rarely tells the full story. We don’t always know the circumstances, opportunities, support or trade-offs that shaped their career path. Your situation is different because you are different. Your responsibilities, opportunities, setbacks, strengths and priorities are uniquely yours. Don’t let the limitations of the past (or even the present) convince you that you’ve missed your chance and stop you from pursuing what you want and deserve.
The Courage Remedy: Trade waiting for wisdom.
This mindset shift can change everything. You can’t redo the past, but you can learn from it. Use it to decide what happens next. Turn what you considered a disadvantage to an advantage.
Next Actions:
Instead of getting stuck in why you didn’t, use questions that pull you back into what you can do now. Use this framework to uncover the source of this limiting belief and how to move past it:
1. Identify what held you back.
What specifically stopped me from making a move earlier (e.g., fear, finances, confidence, clarity, life circumstances, burnout)?
What was I protecting back then (e.g., stability, family needs, health, predictability)?
What did I need at that time that I didn’t have?
2. Reframe it with wisdom.
What does my path actually say about me (e.g., I’m resilient, responsible, committed, adaptable)?
What do I have now that I didn’t have then?
What did I learn during that time that makes me more prepared now?
3. Turn it into forward motion:
What’s one step I can take now my future self will thank me for?
If I don’t change anything, how will I feel one year from now?
What would courage look like at my age and stage (not compared to someone else’s)?
You don’t need more time. You need action.
BOTTOM LINE:
Courage isn’t always a big, dramatic leap. It’s a practice. A muscle. A series of brave moments built on top of the next.
If your next career move feels unclear or overwhelming, start small: Name the limiting belief (without judgment), identify the fear underneath it, and take one step that challenges it.
The goal isn’t to be fearless. Fear is a necessary part of courage. It’s just time to stop letting fear be the driver and put it in the passenger seat where it belongs.
So as you set goals this year, consider setting an intention too:
What if your intention is courage?
If you’re ready to challenge your limiting beliefs and make your next career move with more courage, I’d love to support you and always happy to connect.