How to Make a Great Decision with Confidence

• Are you thinking about enrolling in yoga teacher training certification?
• Do you have concerns about the financial investment and time commitment?
• Are you concerned about the impact on your family?

If you answered yes, you’re not alone. Read on to learn how to become an empowered woman and make a great decision about yoga teacher training no matter what your resources hold.

Facts About Women, Money & Decisions

Women account for about 85% of all consumer purchase decisions.  Yet 80% of women will say “no” to investing in themselves for yoga teacher training over and over again.

Why is this?

Put simply, there are hundreds of years of cultural training at work here. One reason cited by self-help guru Tony Robbins is the culture of one-down manship with women. When a woman receives a compliment, she is quick to put herself down.  This sets off a whole psychology of not valuing oneself.

According to to oprah.com,

Women aren’t on their own list of priorities.  After taking care of everyone else, they are always putting themselves last on the list, and often have very little left to give.  There are many women who aren’t living – they are just existing.  This is a form of self-abuse.  The more you do for your loved ones, the more acceptable it becomes to …become a “sacrificial lamb…” The challenge for women is that they must re-language what it means to be a good wife and mother…It means that if you don’t take care of yourself, in the long run, you are ultimately harming all the other people you love in your life.  You won’t be the only one who takes the hit.

Chief Operating Officer of Facebook, Sheryl Sandberg takes it a step further. Women are afraid to negotiate for themselves she says.  Sheryl Sandberg goes on to explain, women are afraid to negotiate – go to bat for themselves. The research shows that when women negotiate for themselves, people like them less and don’t want to work with them! So the behavior of putting herself first, is not rewarded. Women know– even if they haven’t seen the data — that people react badly to this kind of behavior.

How does this apply to you? Let’s say for example, you decide to do yoga teacher training, but you want to discuss it with your spouse/partner to get their buy-in. This is a negotiation, especially if you approach the conversation from a place of asking for permission, rather than asking for buy-in.  In the former, the decision has not yet been made; in the latter it has.

And finally, according to Samantha Boardman, MD, many women think of their own needs as selfish. Instead of seeing self-care as fundamental, it seen as an indulgence. Prioritizing sleep, or pursuing your calling aren’t luxuries.  They’re essentials for anyone who wants to live a happy and fulfilled life.

Is that you?

The Cost of Indecision

Being in conflict with yourself about a decision has consequences. It’s not uncommon to feel stuck. You may also be struggling with constantly weighing the pros against the cons.

Sitting with indecision for any length of time, especially when it involves ignoring your spirit, is dangerous. Not only is it an energy suck, it takes a toll on mood, physical well being, relationships and our ability to show up in the world authentically.

Women in particular often get stuck in indecision because they are trying to please too many people — everyone except themselves!

As human beings, we are hard-wired for survival. This means that most decisions are made with only 10% of our brains — the part that governs logic and survival (fear). We ignore the other 90% of ourselves, including our bodies!

Yoga is about listening to the other 90%. It’s a bottom up approach that says the wisdom of the body is valuable and worthy of our attention and respect.

“Be a yogi. Be courageously decisive and take the first step to advancing your inner yoga practice. Create harmony within by making the decision to follow your heart.”
— Laurel Hodory

Prioritize Yourself

If you’re reading this, you’ve been thinking about yoga teacher training for a while. What’s stopping you?

Sure, there are things like time and money. But more often than not, these are just excuses that obscure a deeper truth. Take a moment to honestly write down the answers to these questions:

• Do you believe that you are worth an investment in yourself?
• Do you believe that you have a right to feel passionate and purposeful?
• Do you know that you will be a better person (partner, parent, sibling, friend, colleague) when you say ‘yes’ to yourself and make your personal growth a priority?

For years I allowed my beliefs to limit me. But something happened recently for me that changed everything. It gave me a fail-proof system for making great decisions.

Read on to learn what it is so you too can make great decisions with confidence and ease!

Simple Steps to a Great Decision

Step #1:

Get clarity about whether or not the program you want to invest in (ie, yoga teacher training) is truly a priority for yourself.

Start by asking yourself these questions:

• What happens to your energy when you think or talk about becoming a yoga teacher?
• Do you see opportunities (for teaching yoga) where you didn’t see them before?
• Do you have a sense that becoming a yoga teacher is a calling or a passion?
• Do you personally get benefits from yoga that you want to amplify and share with others?
• Do you feel lost when you don’t get to practice yoga?

If you answered yes to any of these questions, becoming a yoga teacher is an important investment your spirit is calling you to do.

Step #2:

Identify the cost of NOT acting on your calling to enroll in yoga teacher training.

• What is the cost to you to live and work in a career that you are not passionate about?
• What is the cost to your family that you are bearing this stress?
• What is the cost to your health bearing this stress? We sometimes may ignore chronic health problems like digestive stress, sleep disturbance, aches and pains, anxiety and depression to name a few.  Keep in mind that according to the NIH, most chronic conditions are caused by lifestyle and stress.  And taking a drug doesn’t solve chronic conditions, it only masks it.
• What is the cost to you personally, to have reached a plateau in your yoga practice and not know how to advance to the next level?
• What is the cost to you to have an injury that continues to interfere with your yoga practice?
• What is the cost to you financially:
  • To have chronic health issues from stress (see above)?
  • From not earning income from teaching yoga?
  • To continue to pay for yoga classes when you could teach yourself?

Step #3:

How to Outsmart Your Fear

I made a huge investment in my business two years ago by enrolling in a coaching program. It was an $11,000 investment.

I was terrified. I had NO IDEA how I was going to finance it. Two years later, I’m making more money than ever doing what I love —  teaching yoga and making a difference in the world.

Had I let my fear guide me, I would’ve never taken that leap of faith.  So how did I outsmart my fear?

First, I had to recognize my fear. This can sometimes be tricky.  It often shows up as logical and pragmatic reasons why a making the investment (time, money) is not a good idea.

Typically, there are two big reasons:  lack of time and money.  Sometimes another one sneaks in—lack of confidence.  What if I’m not good enough to succeed? What if I fail at being a yoga teacher?

You can tell this survival mechanism is at work if you can write out a list of logical reasons why you should NOT follow the call of your heart.

But these are excuses.  Here’s why.   Our survival mechanism is hard-wired to protect us against anything that could pose a risk to survival. Making a big investment of time, money, and making a gamble on your success is a huge risk that uncertainty and change.

When we were living in caves, this was a valuable mechanism that kept us safe from predators, starvation and other threats. Today, it’s not.  It often causes us to stay stuck indecision and smallness.

Taking a risk and making a change in your life can feel scary.  Really scary, especially when you don’t know how you are going to finance an investment, who’s going to help you with child or pet care, or if you’re going to come out successful at the end.

But it’s NOT a good reason to say NO, especially if you’re someone who has designs on living a passionate, purpose-filled life filled with joy and ease.

Once you’ve identified that fear is the barrier (not your excuses), the second step in outsmarting your fear is to short circuit the survival mechanism by redefining fear.

Fear is actually the feeling that arises before massive transformation occurs, according to author Mastin Kipp.

And he’s right. I experienced this myself when I went to invest in my coaching program. When I recognized and redefined my fear as a signpost that I was on the right path and just about to experience massive transformation, I took a leap of faith.

I made a decision to invest in possibility NOT in fear.  Got it?
That set me up to do the next right thing….

Step #4:

Take a Leap of Faith

Anthony Hopkins said it best, “Be bold and mighty forces will come to your aid.”

And guess what happened once I said YES to myself, took action, and invested in that coaching program?  Everything started to support me!  EVERYTHING!

• I started coming up with creative solutions I couldn’t have thought of before.
• My business started growing, unexplainably.
• My husband got really excited and supportive of my new behaviors AND the travel My husband got really excited about my transformation and continues to support and encourage me as I continue to move and grow!the coaching program required of me.
• People started coming out of the woodwork to help me.

Step #5:

Get a Return on Your Investment

Here’s the thing.  I made my $11,000 back long before the program I was enrolled in ended!

You too will earn a return on your investment when you enroll in Yoga Teacher Training certification with Laurel Hodory & Faculty.

But only if you decide to.

And you’ll earn more of a return if you decide early that you want to.  Most of the teachers in our 5 month certification program are teaching by the third month.  Sometimes, they’re earning enough that it pays their entire monthly tuition payment.

But it gets better!

Once you take a leap of faith on your behalf, magic happens!  You’ll be so excited and energized by what you’re doing, you’ll be surprised what can happen. We’ve had numerous clients in our programs get surprise promotions and raises at their primary place of employment.  That could be you!

Step # 6:  

Discuss Your Decision to Do Yoga Teacher Training with Your Partner/Spouse & Ask for Their Support

• Using the steps above, decide with confidence to do the yoga teacher training program.
• Schedule a time to meet with your partner/spouse when they are not rushed and  are fully able to listen.
• Keep in mind that the purpose of the conversation is not to ask for permission or approval.  The purpose of the conversation is to share your excitement and gain your partner’s support. While this may be a family matter, it is not a family a decision. It is your decision.
• You may want to review the Yoga with Laurel FAQs Sheet so you can speak to the benefits your partner and family will gain from your enrolling in the program.
• Take a few moments before hand to review the list of questions under Step # 1. Get excited and grounded in your worthiness and vision for becoming a yoga teacher.

Step #7:  

Continuously invest in your personal growth by making a commitment annually to a program of training or coaching that moves and inspires you.