Turning lead into gold: the alchemy of confidence

I think we have all gone through this as women: hearing a crushing piece of feedback or a judgement made about you, followed by a sinking feeling (I am going to use dramatic language here) as if your legs have just been cut off.

That kind of communication when it comes unexpectedly can completely knock your sense of grounding, not to mention your confidence. Especially when there is no constructive element to it.

There is an reason for why you feel the energetic impact in your lower body, just like you would feel any criticism of your work as a punch in the gut. (I won’t go into the ins and outs of this, but perhaps teach this in a future training.)

When clients approach me for coaching after their self-concept has been shaken for whatever reason (unexpected feedback, being denied a promotion or pay rise, toxicity in a work relationship, long-term lack of support etc.), they appear before me with a very heavy energy.

Having been there myself, I know how this can be a place where many other insecurities - which you thought you were behind you - suddenly resurface and add to your self-doubt, because essentially you are left feeling like you have nothing to stand on.

So it can be quite a process to get back to where your confidence once was, especially when you are trying to do it on your own.

Now this is in sharp contrast to how my clients show up a couple of coaching sessions later: their energy is lighter, they hold their heads higher and their eyes shine brighter. 

Their confidence starts emanating from within, rather than fluctuating with the amount of external validation they receive. 

So their new-found confidence is actually more powerful than what they started out with.

Which confirms to me the alchemy taking place behind the scenes in their lives: lead is being turned into gold in real time.

If you recall your chemistry periodic table, the element lead has to give up three atoms to turn into gold, which I understand has been achieved in reality through nuclear physics, rather than a DIY process attempted in chemistry labs by alchemists of old.

Coming back to the coaching journey, I can immediately recognise when my coachees have essentially given up major negative aspects of their self-concept that have been holding them back, sometimes for years.

And as a coach this is magical for me to witness, and I am filled with pride to see how far they have travelled, for choosing a different future for themselves and their careers, and for persisting with this journey because it is far easier to shut off from the world out of self-preservation when your confidence has been shaken time and again.

This kind of transformation is not for everyone because it takes real commitment and a strong internal 'enough is enough'.

But if you are one of the few women who want to rewrite their destiny in 2026, the season to lay the groundwork starts this autumn, and I would be honoured to be your guide in this process, which is why I have now opened enrolment for my Aspire & Ascend programme.

If you are ready to shed those unwanted atoms weighing you down like lead, then let’s get to work!