In this episode, Cindy Esliger talks about how our natural instinct to feel safe can turn into a trap by silencing our bold ideas and keeping us in a role that no longer challenges us. She differentiates between blowing up our lives and doing small low stakes change experiments to reconnect to intuition. Stability is inviting but it can lead to too much safety. Cindy offers a way to push ourselves past that instinct for predictable comfort into discovering new possibilities. 

Safety feels good until it doesn’t. It feels like we’re in control until one day it starts to feel like numbness and being boxed in. But how do we know when our safety has actually become complacency? Cindy has three clues to guide our assessment: 1) We constantly ask for validation or permission before making a move, 2) We feel safe but also stuck, and 3) We find ourselves downsizing our goals to make other people comfortable. Stability has its place but financial and emotional security should be a foundation, not a ceiling.    

Redefining safety is key. Safety doesn’t mean avoiding discomfort, it means building trust in our own ability to respond to discomfort. Cindy encourages us to be willing to get a little uncomfortable in order to experiment and explore in our careers. She points out that momentum matters more than motivation, since motivation can be fickle. We need to also question our need for approval. Following Cindy’s guidance opens a path to flexibility and real growth potential. It reframes discomfort not as a danger, but simply uncertainty. Uncertainty can be normalized and anticipated. That’s how we grow.   

Resources discussed in this episode:

• Guide to Living More Boldly
• Astronomic Audio
• Confidence Collective

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Contact Cindy Esliger 

Career Confidence Coaching: website | instagram | facebook | linkedin | email

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