Last night, my husband and I were wandering through just one of the many bustling local markets here in Bangkok, where you truly can buy everything you can possibly imagine and then some. The noise of lively exchanges between stall owners and their customers, bartering back and forth for the best price, was intense to say the least.

And witnessing these negotiations take place one after another, each party each of the transaction trying hard to strike the best deal, it struck me how we often battle for our dreams with our internal storyteller in this exact same way.

Just like the market customer points out a product's flaws, it's lack of quality, it's lack of worthiness to justify paying the lowest possible price, our internal storyteller points out all of our self-perceived flaws, our lack of quality or craftsmanship, and our lack of worthiness to justify paying the least discomfort in exchange for our dreams.

And just as the market customer uses fear, by indicating their willingness to walk away in order to get the store owner to agree to the lowest possible price, our internal storyteller plays the exact same game with us. It pulls out all of our fears to make us give in to the lowest possible level of discomfort – to go after our dreams down the path of least resistance.

But the thing I know about achieving your dreams is this. The path of least resistance may keep you in your comfort zone, but it won't take you towards your dreams anytime soon. And every time you give in to your storyteller and make a deal that exchanges your potential for the least possible discomfort, you are selling yourself short. You are robbing your jar of dreams to fill your jar of regrets.

Now, since you're listening in to this podcast, I know that you are a woman who no longer wants to settle for regrets. So today, I want to share my tips on how to stop bartering away the life you want and start making deals that support your dreams.

If you're ready to say YES! to your fullest potential, then listen in, my friend, and let's talk about doing exactly.

Welcome to The Self-Creation School podcast, for women who are ready to ditch mediocrity, step up and get more of what they want, and finally say YES! to a life that sets their soul on fire. I'm your host Leanne Letica, Self-Creation Coach, founder of The Self-Creation School AND Queen of YES!. If you're ready to play life by your own personal rule book, and give yourself permission to say YES! to yourself and your wildest dreams, this podcast is the place for you.

Hello, and thanks so much for joining me for today's conversation. In case this is your first time listening in, this podcast is the place where I share my secrets every Wednesday for saying YES! to a life you love waking up to every single day. And if you hang about with me for longer than a hot little minute, you'll very quickly learn that I am all about not just loving you a lot but having a love affair with life itself.

Let's get straight into this business of bartering for your dreams because there really is no time to waste when it comes to making your dreams your reality.

Now I'll be honest, I am not the world's best negotiator at markets. My husband loves to tell the story of how I bartered so hard at a market in China once that I offended the store owner to the point that he flat out refused to sell me his goods, even when I agreed to pay the higher price he wanted. I can tell you I am never going to live that down because the difference I was bartering over, I didn't realize in the moment, was a meagre twenty cents. You can probably imagine how I felt.

I am, however, very good at negotiating for my dreams with my internal storyteller, who if you haven't heard me speak about yet is called “Mrs. X”. So, as long as there is no currency exchange in play, you are in safe hands on this topic.

The thing I want to talk about first and foremost today is why it is you might fall into the trap of making deals with yourself that simply do not serve you. Why it is you fall prey to a deal that makes you settle for less, rather than strive for your fullest potential. And it comes down to three common underlying things.

The first is fear. So for example, a fear of failure, judgment, rejection, or even a fear of being unworthy. If your storyteller senses you are afraid or worried about doing this thing you want to do in any small way, it will use this fear to talk you down on your dreams hard and fast to keep you safe and out of harm's way. To prevent you from taking risks that might lead to things like disappointment, hurt, shame, embarrassment, feelings of unworthiness, and so on and so forth.

Following on closely from that, the second reason is the desire for certainty or control. As humans, we like to feel assured of the outcome and that things will go exactly as we plan. So anything unknown or outside of our control is going to feel pretty risky. Your storyteller, once again, will pick up on that risk and use it to barter you down on your dreams.

And the third reason, which follows on from both of those reasons, is to avoid discomfort. Let's be honest, going after your dreams is often no walk in the park. It requires a whole lot of growing and stretching to reach beyond your current reality. And whenever there's expansion involved, there is going to be tension, and there is going to be discomfort. Throw your fears and desire for certainty or control into the mix, and your storyteller has a whole lot of clout to bargain your dreams away to nothing.

Now, as the stall owner of your mind, if you will, it is going to be important that you don't undersell yourself and your dreams to the limiting negotiation tactics your storyteller will employ to keep you from potentially putting yourself in harm's way. So, let me share how to identify some of the common self-negotiation traps you might be falling prey to when it comes to taking action towards the things you want.

The first negotiation trap is what I like to call the “Tomorrow Deal”.

This is the one where you tell yourself, “I'll start tomorrow”, or “I'll do that another day”. Basically, you put off taking action towards your dreams because your storyteller convinces you to wait for some mythical perfect moment in time. Again, this will stem from your fears, your desire for certainty or control, or to avoid discomfort. Or by the way, a mix of those, or perhaps all three.

If you've ever told yourself things like, “It's probably too late to get started today, I should probably start this tomorrow, so I have more time.” Or “I've already blown my diet this week, so I'll start again on Monday.” Or,z as I know some of us are doing right now, “Well, the year is almost done and there's no way I'll achieve this goal before the year is out. So, I'll just make a start in January, that way I'll have the whole year to do this.” If you've ever negotiated inaction by telling yourself these kind of things, you are making a Tomorrow Deal with your storyteller.

And here's what tends to happen. Tomorrow turns into next week. Next week turns into next month. Next month turns into next month still. Or maybe, like I just said, even next year. Your dreams stay very firmly parked on your “One Day When List”. One day when it's more convenient, when I have more time, more skills, more confidence, more fill in the blank. Your storyteller convinces you that the cost of taking action today is just too high and to put a pause on your dreams, to delay taking action. It convinces you that your dreams can wait, and my friend, no they can’t.

You have just this one precious life and your dreams don't deserve to be sold out to the Tomorrow Deal. Today is the day to start moving your dreams from your “One Day List” to your “Done Day List” because the raw and honest truth is this, tomorrow is not guaranteed for any of us.

So, if this is a deal you fall prey to, here's my tip for getting out of the Tomorrow Deal trap.

Commit to taking just one small step today, even if you can't see how this will make any difference. Maybe it's simply brainstorming your next move. It could be sending an email to a potential client or taking one less bite of your meal. The trick is to make this action so small that your Mrs. X, your internal storyteller, doesn't feel the need to negotiate it with you.

And you might think, what's the point? What difference will this make? But trust me, these small actions matter. They matter because they acknowledge that your dreams matter, and they deserve attention today. They matter because it puts you in the driver's seat of the negotiation and allows you to steer the outcome. They matter because they set your wheels in motion and one small step after another, one day after another, they will help you gain momentum. The thing I know about momentum is, it is a powerful driving force in achieving success.

But perhaps most importantly, taking even the smallest action towards your dream takes it off the “One Day When List” and puts it on the “Today List”. When you continue to put it on the “Today List”, you communicate to yourself and your world that this dream is happening no matter what. And over time, eventually, you will find yourself adding this dream to your “Done Day List”.

The second trap is what I like to call the “I'm Not Ready Deal”.

This one's especially sneaky because it sounds practical and even responsible. It's when your storyteller reasons that you need more time, more skills, more experience or more preparation of some kind before you can take that next step towards your dream. Honestly, our storytellers are great at convincing us that we should wait until we're fully ready. But this means that you might end up waiting forever.

I've said this before, and you'll probably hear me say it again. Readiness is a fallacy. By definition of the very word itself, you cannot ever be fully ready to do something because you cannot know everything in absolute terms that you need to be ready to do to make something happen until you can look back in hindsight once all is said and done. You will never be truly ready, and the truth is, you don't need to be.

If you've ever thought things like, “I need to do more research before I start”, “I'll wait until I feel more confident”, “when I have the money to do it properly, I'll get started”, or “once I'm more qualified, I'll go for it”, then you are likely making an I'm Not Ready Deal with your storyteller.

Listen, nobody ever feels fully ready when they're on the verge of something big, of something new. But dreams happen in the doing, not in the waiting. Waiting until you feel absolutely ready is just a comfortable excuse to stay safe and avoid stepping into the unknown. And the end result is, you sell your dreams, and your potential to learn and grow as you go, short.

Now, to get out of the I'm Not Ready trap, I encourage you to ask yourself this, “What's one small action I would take if I was ready?” Think of something simple, something achievable, and maybe even just a little bit scary. Then go and take that step. Because by acting as if you are ready, even in the smallest way, you begin to build your confidence to take those bigger steps. And over time, each more step you take, will help you feel more prepared because you'll have actual experience, not just hypothetical preparation.

Just like your dreams, confidence is built through doing, not waiting. The more steps you take, no matter how big or small those steps are, the more momentum you'll build and soon you'll find yourself moving forward despite any remaining fears or doubts. You'll be showing your Mrs. X that you don't need to wait for some perfect moment to make your dreams happen. You're ready enough to start now.

The third most common trap is the “Path of Least Resistance Deal”.

This one is all about choosing comfort over challenge. It's when you hear that little voice saying, “why bother when you can just stay where things are easy.” Your storyteller loves to pull this card because once again, going after your dreams is rarely comfortable. It often involves growing pains, new challenges, a lot of unknowns, and all of those are uncomfortable in their very nature.

If you've ever caught yourself thinking things like, “life's good enough as it is, I don't need to push for more”, “this feels like too much effort right now”, or “why go out of my way and stress myself out”, then you're falling prey to a Path of Least Resistance Deal. The thing is, on the surface, these thoughts feel logical. They even sound self-compassionate, as if you're doing yourself a favor by choosing the easy way forward.

But the truth is, comfort doesn't lead to growth. Growth and progress happen when we're willing to lean into the discomfort, to stretch ourselves beyond what we already know, and take the path that might be a little rocky.

So, to get yourself out of the Path of Least Resistance trap start seeing discomfort as a sign of growth, as a positive thing. When you feel resistance or perhaps a little fear, take it as a cue that you're stepping into a place where change is possible. And that, my friend, is an exciting place to be. Because when you change who you be and how you show up in your world, you will change the reality you experience.

If you're stuck in the Path of Least Resistance trap, here's a question to ask yourself to barter for your dreams, “What would it look like to challenge myself just a little bit today?” Then take that action. Remember, it doesn't have to be a huge leap. Look for something that challenges you just a little, but is still very doable, so that it gives you a quick win and boost to your confidence.

I hope you're beginning to connect the dots here. You don't need to take big, bold steps. That kind of action will come by setting the wheels in motion with those much smaller initial steps that avoid entering into a deal breaker kind of negotiation with your storyteller. Your storyteller for sure may still have something to say, but it's not going to stop you taking action. It's not going to kill the deal.

Start small and build your confidence to take those bigger steps over time. The key here is to get comfortable with discomfort, to practice pushing your own boundaries. Every time you choose to go a little beyond what's comfortable, you're flexing your bartering muscle and you're strengthening your resilience to discomfort. And over time you'll find that those small uncomfortable steps have built up into meaningful progress. You'll start seeing the rewards of choosing growth over comfort and you'll be less tempted to settle for deals that keep you where you are.

By addressing these traps and taking small but powerful actions, you'll begin to renegotiate with your storyteller in a way that truly serves your dreams. The goal is to stop letting your Mrs. X make deals that shortchange your potential and instead to make empowered choices that support the life you're here to create.

On that note, I want to offer you some tips for making stronger deals with yourself when it comes to taking action towards your dream. And I seem to be doing things in three today, so I have three tips to offer.

My first tip is to invest in doing the deeper work to shift your limiting stories. Those stories that fuel your fears, that make you seek out certainty and control, and that keep you stuck in your comfort zone, playing life small.

I don't have time to go into how to do that in today's episode, but I do have a very powerful process you can grab for free over on my website that will help you get started. It's my signature Self-Creation Shift method, and you can access that by taking my free YES! Block Assessment. Which by the way, is very useful because it helps you understand what's stopping you saying YES! to your dreams. I'll leave the link to that assessment in the show notes for you.

My second tip is to decide what's non-negotiable in regards to your dreams moving forward. What part of taking action towards your dream is simply no longer up for negotiation, no matter how strongly your storyteller tries to bargain with you. Just like a market stall owner sets a baseline price for their goods, you can set the baseline commitment for your dreams.

Maybe it's dedicating an hour every week to learning a new skill. It could be setting boundaries around your time to ensure that you have the space to work on your goals. Or prioritizing your health so you have the energy to show up fully for them. But whatever it is for you, create a list of baseline commitments that support your dreams and keep you on track, and then refuse to barter for anything less.

These non-negotiables will help you stand firm when you're telling your Mrs. X, “Hey, no deal, this isn't up for further negotiation.” And pretty soon, you'll find your Mrs. X will stop challenging you on these things.

And finally, my third tip is to make it a habit to celebrate every win, no matter how big or how small. Think of these celebrations as “sealing the deal” on yet another step forward to your dreams. Celebration is such a powerful energy to be in and when you acknowledge your wins, you reinforce to your mind that progress is happening and that your dreams are indeed worth bartering for.

Now, this could be as simple as writing down your achievements. It could be rewarding yourself in some kind of way. Or simply just pausing to reflect and feel proud. It really doesn't matter what this is. What's important is that you acknowledge your wins because this creates a positive feedback loop that strengthens your bartering power and makes it harder for your Mrs. X to bargain away your progress.

These strategies, doing the deeper work, setting non-negotiables and celebrating your wins will help you negotiate with your storyteller from a place of strength and clarity. And soon enough, instead of settling for deals that shortchange your potential, you'll be saying YES! to taking action that brings you closer to the life you're meant to live.

My friend, you do only have this one precious life. You deserve to make it your best one possible. It's time to stop allowing your fears, uncertainty, and discomfort to negotiate what's possible. It's time to take control and barter with everything you've got to make your dreams your reality.

That's it from me this week. I'll be back next week from the final destination on my two-month slow travel experiment in Thailand. I can't believe how fast these two months are flying by. I also can't wait to share with you how and why this final destination became possible. That's a story you don't want to miss.

Until then, be the woman who says YES!

Hey, want to know what's stopping you from saying YES! to you and a life you love?

Head over to https://selfcreationschool.com/yesblock and take my FREE 60 second quiz to find out what's standing in your way today and I'll send you my Self-Creation Shift process for shifting it.

That's https://selfcreationschool.com/yesblock. I’ll see you there.

Last night, my husband and I were wandering through just one of the many bustling local markets here in Bangkok, where you truly can buy everything you can possibly imagine and then some. The noise of lively exchanges between stall owners and their customers, bartering back and forth for the best price, was intense to say the least.

And witnessing these negotiations take place one after another, each party each of the transaction trying hard to strike the best deal, it struck me how we often battle for our dreams with our internal storyteller in this exact same way.

Just like the market customer points out a product's flaws, it's lack of quality, it's lack of worthiness to justify paying the lowest possible price, our internal storyteller points out all of our self-perceived flaws, our lack of quality or craftsmanship, and our lack of worthiness to justify paying the least discomfort in exchange for our dreams.

And just as the market customer uses fear, by indicating their willingness to walk away in order to get the store owner to agree to the lowest possible price, our internal storyteller plays the exact same game with us. It pulls out all of our fears to make us give in to the lowest possible level of discomfort – to go after our dreams down the path of least resistance.

But the thing I know about achieving your dreams is this. The path of least resistance may keep you in your comfort zone, but it won't take you towards your dreams anytime soon. And every time you give in to your storyteller and make a deal that exchanges your potential for the least possible discomfort, you are selling yourself short. You are robbing your jar of dreams to fill your jar of regrets.

Now, since you're listening in to this podcast, I know that you are a woman who no longer wants to settle for regrets. So today, I want to share my tips on how to stop bartering away the life you want and start making deals that support your dreams.

If you're ready to say YES! to your fullest potential, then listen in, my friend, and let's talk about doing exactly.

Welcome to The Self-Creation School podcast, for women who are ready to ditch mediocrity, step up and get more of what they want, and finally say YES! to a life that sets their soul on fire. I'm your host Leanne Letica, Self-Creation Coach, founder of The Self-Creation School AND Queen of YES!. If you're ready to play life by your own personal rule book, and give yourself permission to say YES! to yourself and your wildest dreams, this podcast is the place for you.

Hello, and thanks so much for joining me for today's conversation. In case this is your first time listening in, this podcast is the place where I share my secrets every Wednesday for saying YES! to a life you love waking up to every single day. And if you hang about with me for longer than a hot little minute, you'll very quickly learn that I am all about not just loving you a lot but having a love affair with life itself.

Let's get straight into this business of bartering for your dreams because there really is no time to waste when it comes to making your dreams your reality.

Now I'll be honest, I am not the world's best negotiator at markets. My husband loves to tell the story of how I bartered so hard at a market in China once that I offended the store owner to the point that he flat out refused to sell me his goods, even when I agreed to pay the higher price he wanted. I can tell you I am never going to live that down because the difference I was bartering over, I didn't realize in the moment, was a meagre twenty cents. You can probably imagine how I felt.

I am, however, very good at negotiating for my dreams with my internal storyteller, who if you haven't heard me speak about yet is called “Mrs. X”. So, as long as there is no currency exchange in play, you are in safe hands on this topic.

The thing I want to talk about first and foremost today is why it is you might fall into the trap of making deals with yourself that simply do not serve you. Why it is you fall prey to a deal that makes you settle for less, rather than strive for your fullest potential. And it comes down to three common underlying things.

The first is fear. So for example, a fear of failure, judgment, rejection, or even a fear of being unworthy. If your storyteller senses you are afraid or worried about doing this thing you want to do in any small way, it will use this fear to talk you down on your dreams hard and fast to keep you safe and out of harm's way. To prevent you from taking risks that might lead to things like disappointment, hurt, shame, embarrassment, feelings of unworthiness, and so on and so forth.

Following on closely from that, the second reason is the desire for certainty or control. As humans, we like to feel assured of the outcome and that things will go exactly as we plan. So anything unknown or outside of our control is going to feel pretty risky. Your storyteller, once again, will pick up on that risk and use it to barter you down on your dreams.

And the third reason, which follows on from both of those reasons, is to avoid discomfort. Let's be honest, going after your dreams is often no walk in the park. It requires a whole lot of growing and stretching to reach beyond your current reality. And whenever there's expansion involved, there is going to be tension, and there is going to be discomfort. Throw your fears and desire for certainty or control into the mix, and your storyteller has a whole lot of clout to bargain your dreams away to nothing.

Now, as the stall owner of your mind, if you will, it is going to be important that you don't undersell yourself and your dreams to the limiting negotiation tactics your storyteller will employ to keep you from potentially putting yourself in harm's way. So, let me share how to identify some of the common self-negotiation traps you might be falling prey to when it comes to taking action towards the things you want.

The first negotiation trap is what I like to call the “Tomorrow Deal”.

This is the one where you tell yourself, “I'll start tomorrow”, or “I'll do that another day”. Basically, you put off taking action towards your dreams because your storyteller convinces you to wait for some mythical perfect moment in time. Again, this will stem from your fears, your desire for certainty or control, or to avoid discomfort. Or by the way, a mix of those, or perhaps all three.

If you've ever told yourself things like, “It's probably too late to get started today, I should probably start this tomorrow, so I have more time.” Or “I've already blown my diet this week, so I'll start again on Monday.” Or,z as I know some of us are doing right now, “Well, the year is almost done and there's no way I'll achieve this goal before the year is out. So, I'll just make a start in January, that way I'll have the whole year to do this.” If you've ever negotiated inaction by telling yourself these kind of things, you are making a Tomorrow Deal with your storyteller.

And here's what tends to happen. Tomorrow turns into next week. Next week turns into next month. Next month turns into next month still. Or maybe, like I just said, even next year. Your dreams stay very firmly parked on your “One Day When List”. One day when it's more convenient, when I have more time, more skills, more confidence, more fill in the blank. Your storyteller convinces you that the cost of taking action today is just too high and to put a pause on your dreams, to delay taking action. It convinces you that your dreams can wait, and my friend, no they can’t.

You have just this one precious life and your dreams don't deserve to be sold out to the Tomorrow Deal. Today is the day to start moving your dreams from your “One Day List” to your “Done Day List” because the raw and honest truth is this, tomorrow is not guaranteed for any of us.

So, if this is a deal you fall prey to, here's my tip for getting out of the Tomorrow Deal trap.

Commit to taking just one small step today, even if you can't see how this will make any difference. Maybe it's simply brainstorming your next move. It could be sending an email to a potential client or taking one less bite of your meal. The trick is to make this action so small that your Mrs. X, your internal storyteller, doesn't feel the need to negotiate it with you.

And you might think, what's the point? What difference will this make? But trust me, these small actions matter. They matter because they acknowledge that your dreams matter, and they deserve attention today. They matter because it puts you in the driver's seat of the negotiation and allows you to steer the outcome. They matter because they set your wheels in motion and one small step after another, one day after another, they will help you gain momentum. The thing I know about momentum is, it is a powerful driving force in achieving success.

But perhaps most importantly, taking even the smallest action towards your dream takes it off the “One Day When List” and puts it on the “Today List”. When you continue to put it on the “Today List”, you communicate to yourself and your world that this dream is happening no matter what. And over time, eventually, you will find yourself adding this dream to your “Done Day List”.

The second trap is what I like to call the “I'm Not Ready Deal”.

This one's especially sneaky because it sounds practical and even responsible. It's when your storyteller reasons that you need more time, more skills, more experience or more preparation of some kind before you can take that next step towards your dream. Honestly, our storytellers are great at convincing us that we should wait until we're fully ready. But this means that you might end up waiting forever.

I've said this before, and you'll probably hear me say it again. Readiness is a fallacy. By definition of the very word itself, you cannot ever be fully ready to do something because you cannot know everything in absolute terms that you need to be ready to do to make something happen until you can look back in hindsight once all is said and done. You will never be truly ready, and the truth is, you don't need to be.

If you've ever thought things like, “I need to do more research before I start”, “I'll wait until I feel more confident”, “when I have the money to do it properly, I'll get started”, or “once I'm more qualified, I'll go for it”, then you are likely making an I'm Not Ready Deal with your storyteller.

Listen, nobody ever feels fully ready when they're on the verge of something big, of something new. But dreams happen in the doing, not in the waiting. Waiting until you feel absolutely ready is just a comfortable excuse to stay safe and avoid stepping into the unknown. And the end result is, you sell your dreams, and your potential to learn and grow as you go, short.

Now, to get out of the I'm Not Ready trap, I encourage you to ask yourself this, “What's one small action I would take if I was ready?” Think of something simple, something achievable, and maybe even just a little bit scary. Then go and take that step. Because by acting as if you are ready, even in the smallest way, you begin to build your confidence to take those bigger steps. And over time, each more step you take, will help you feel more prepared because you'll have actual experience, not just hypothetical preparation.

Just like your dreams, confidence is built through doing, not waiting. The more steps you take, no matter how big or small those steps are, the more momentum you'll build and soon you'll find yourself moving forward despite any remaining fears or doubts. You'll be showing your Mrs. X that you don't need to wait for some perfect moment to make your dreams happen. You're ready enough to start now.

The third most common trap is the “Path of Least Resistance Deal”.

This one is all about choosing comfort over challenge. It's when you hear that little voice saying, “why bother when you can just stay where things are easy.” Your storyteller loves to pull this card because once again, going after your dreams is rarely comfortable. It often involves growing pains, new challenges, a lot of unknowns, and all of those are uncomfortable in their very nature.

If you've ever caught yourself thinking things like, “life's good enough as it is, I don't need to push for more”, “this feels like too much effort right now”, or “why go out of my way and stress myself out”, then you're falling prey to a Path of Least Resistance Deal. The thing is, on the surface, these thoughts feel logical. They even sound self-compassionate, as if you're doing yourself a favor by choosing the easy way forward.

But the truth is, comfort doesn't lead to growth. Growth and progress happen when we're willing to lean into the discomfort, to stretch ourselves beyond what we already know, and take the path that might be a little rocky.

So, to get yourself out of the Path of Least Resistance trap start seeing discomfort as a sign of growth, as a positive thing. When you feel resistance or perhaps a little fear, take it as a cue that you're stepping into a place where change is possible. And that, my friend, is an exciting place to be. Because when you change who you be and how you show up in your world, you will change the reality you experience.

If you're stuck in the Path of Least Resistance trap, here's a question to ask yourself to barter for your dreams, “What would it look like to challenge myself just a little bit today?” Then take that action. Remember, it doesn't have to be a huge leap. Look for something that challenges you just a little, but is still very doable, so that it gives you a quick win and boost to your confidence.

I hope you're beginning to connect the dots here. You don't need to take big, bold steps. That kind of action will come by setting the wheels in motion with those much smaller initial steps that avoid entering into a deal breaker kind of negotiation with your storyteller. Your storyteller for sure may still have something to say, but it's not going to stop you taking action. It's not going to kill the deal.

Start small and build your confidence to take those bigger steps over time. The key here is to get comfortable with discomfort, to practice pushing your own boundaries. Every time you choose to go a little beyond what's comfortable, you're flexing your bartering muscle and you're strengthening your resilience to discomfort. And over time you'll find that those small uncomfortable steps have built up into meaningful progress. You'll start seeing the rewards of choosing growth over comfort and you'll be less tempted to settle for deals that keep you where you are.

By addressing these traps and taking small but powerful actions, you'll begin to renegotiate with your storyteller in a way that truly serves your dreams. The goal is to stop letting your Mrs. X make deals that shortchange your potential and instead to make empowered choices that support the life you're here to create.

On that note, I want to offer you some tips for making stronger deals with yourself when it comes to taking action towards your dream. And I seem to be doing things in three today, so I have three tips to offer.

My first tip is to invest in doing the deeper work to shift your limiting stories. Those stories that fuel your fears, that make you seek out certainty and control, and that keep you stuck in your comfort zone, playing life small.

I don't have time to go into how to do that in today's episode, but I do have a very powerful process you can grab for free over on my website that will help you get started. It's my signature Self-Creation Shift method, and you can access that by taking my free YES! Block Assessment. Which by the way, is very useful because it helps you understand what's stopping you saying YES! to your dreams. I'll leave the link to that assessment in the show notes for you.

My second tip is to decide what's non-negotiable in regards to your dreams moving forward. What part of taking action towards your dream is simply no longer up for negotiation, no matter how strongly your storyteller tries to bargain with you. Just like a market stall owner sets a baseline price for their goods, you can set the baseline commitment for your dreams.

Maybe it's dedicating an hour every week to learning a new skill. It could be setting boundaries around your time to ensure that you have the space to work on your goals. Or prioritizing your health so you have the energy to show up fully for them. But whatever it is for you, create a list of baseline commitments that support your dreams and keep you on track, and then refuse to barter for anything less.

These non-negotiables will help you stand firm when you're telling your Mrs. X, “Hey, no deal, this isn't up for further negotiation.” And pretty soon, you'll find your Mrs. X will stop challenging you on these things.

And finally, my third tip is to make it a habit to celebrate every win, no matter how big or how small. Think of these celebrations as “sealing the deal” on yet another step forward to your dreams. Celebration is such a powerful energy to be in and when you acknowledge your wins, you reinforce to your mind that progress is happening and that your dreams are indeed worth bartering for.

Now, this could be as simple as writing down your achievements. It could be rewarding yourself in some kind of way. Or simply just pausing to reflect and feel proud. It really doesn't matter what this is. What's important is that you acknowledge your wins because this creates a positive feedback loop that strengthens your bartering power and makes it harder for your Mrs. X to bargain away your progress.

These strategies, doing the deeper work, setting non-negotiables and celebrating your wins will help you negotiate with your storyteller from a place of strength and clarity. And soon enough, instead of settling for deals that shortchange your potential, you'll be saying YES! to taking action that brings you closer to the life you're meant to live.

My friend, you do only have this one precious life. You deserve to make it your best one possible. It's time to stop allowing your fears, uncertainty, and discomfort to negotiate what's possible. It's time to take control and barter with everything you've got to make your dreams your reality.

That's it from me this week. I'll be back next week from the final destination on my two-month slow travel experiment in Thailand. I can't believe how fast these two months are flying by. I also can't wait to share with you how and why this final destination became possible. That's a story you don't want to miss.

Until then, be the woman who says YES!

Hey, want to know what's stopping you from saying YES! to you and a life you love?

Head over to https://selfcreationschool.com/yesblock and take my FREE 60 second quiz to find out what's standing in your way today and I'll send you my Self-Creation Shift process for shifting it.

That's https://selfcreationschool.com/yesblock. I’ll see you there.