Yesterday, I was doing some editing on previous case studies and I was struck by just how many of my clients, all of whom were taking the huge step of going out and starting their own business, were getting stuck on "judgement". They were either judging themselves by standards they would never apply to others or they had taken judgements of others and used them as the foundation for a "truth" of their own.

Examples include the client who never celebrated any of her own successes, including the award of her MBA because she judged that her own achievements weren't that big a deal.

Or the client whose mentor had dismissed marketing as something only truly desperate people did, causing him to assume this as a truth for himself and creating untold headaches as he tried to reconcile the need to market his services with the idea that marketing was only for failures.

The result of accepting these judgements is a lack of confidence in what you can do and a feeling of resistance to doing what you know you need to do in order to progress.

Judgement surrounds all of us. If you are thinking of starting a business everyone will offer an opinion, most of which is not relevant to you or your circumstances.  Be prepared for judgement from others. Be aware of how you judge yourself. Critically evaluate it - is it valid? Is it REALLY true for you?  Or can you just leave it there and get on with doing your thing anyway?