The 3-Breath Self-Assurance Check: How to Make Decisions With Confidence
- Aug 17
- 4 min read
A practical way to make a decision when instinct, fear and everyone else’s opinion all show up at once.
You know the feeling. You find yourself faced with a decision: Should you increase your prices, but what if the new price is too high and you lose customers because they don’t understand the value? Or is it time to launch that new campaign? But what if your messaging isn’t clear? Should you paint the wall, but what if you don’t like the new colour?
Those “what if” scenarios begin to creep in, with instinct whispering from one side and fear shouting from another. It can feel like there are so many voices in the room instead of only your own.
Why Is It So Hard to Trust Yourself When Making Decisions?
You turn to friends, family, or colleagues for their thoughts and opinions. Now, you’re juggling your own thoughts with everyone else’s input.
This is often the moment when confusion sets in more deeply. When actually the real question that sits at the core is: What if you make the wrong decision? What if you make a mistake?
Throughout my career, I’ve witnessed this scenario unfold time and again, regardless of the decision.
The people that succeed aren’t necessarily those with the loudest confidence; they are the ones with a reliable way of separating fear and distraction, allowing their decisions to truly belong to them.
Being able to calm their minds enough to listen.
A Simple Self-Trust Exercise for Making Decisions
Here’s the method that I personally apply, which I call the 3-Breath Self-Assurance Check.
1. Breathe to Help Calm Your Mind
Take a 2-minute private moment, clear your mind of all thoughts and focus on your breathing.
Take 3 slow breaths, just enough to shift from panic mode back into thinking mode.
2. Outline Your Options to Clear Your Thoughts
Write them down if you need to.
Narrow these choices down to two or three that you are genuinely considering.
3. Evaluate the Realistic Consequences
Evaluate the realistic consequences of each option.
Avoid the worst-case scenarios that fear loves to spin. Instead, consider the probable outcomes.
4. Make the Decision — and Own It
Choose the option that you feel most comfortable with, and the most realistic outcome.
It does not have to be the safest choice or the one that will make everyone else happy.
It is your decision. You own it.
Making the Decision Is Only the First Step
Deciding is part of the process. The next step is acting on that decision.
You might find yourself procrastinating, or wanting to refine a plan to perfection, when it does in fact already work. Waiting for the risk to feel smaller or telling yourself that you’ll find the perfect solution tomorrow.
This often leads to tomorrow stretching into weeks or even months.
It’s the same pattern, just in a different guise: instead of seeking validation from others before making a decision, you are now seeking approval from your inner critic before taking action.
You Don’t Think Your Way Into Confidence — You Act Your Way Into It
Here’s a reminder that I often use myself:
You don’t think your way into confidence; you act your way into it.
Each small, imperfect step serves as evidence that your brain can reference: “I completed this, so I can tackle the next challenge too.”
Confidence alone is not what propels you into action. It’s what remains after you have taken those next steps.
Self-Trust Doesn't Mean Never Feeling Fear
This process doesn’t eliminate fear and it’s not intended to.
However, a decision rooted in calmness and honest evaluation carries a different weight from one that is made in panic or an attempt to please everyone.
Confidence doesn’t stem from being 100% sure that you are right. It comes from understanding precisely how you arrived at your conclusion.
You don’t need anyone else’s approval for this decision.
Take three breaths.
Make your choice.
Shift the narrative from:
“What if I make a mistake?”
to:
“What if I succeed?”
Taking action is more than enough.
Want Support Building More Confidence in Your Decisions?
Sometimes you know you need to trust yourself — but there’s one particular decision, fear or pattern you can’t quite untangle on your own.
That’s exactly what The Pink Sphere Mini Expert Sessions are for.
Book a focused 30-minute Mini Expert Session for £9 with one of our Inner Circle experts and use the time to explore what’s keeping you stuck, gain another perspective and work out your next step — without committing to a long programme.
Upcoming: How to Rebuild Self-Trust and Make Decisions With Confidence
If this article hit a little too close to home, join us for our upcoming Focused Expert Event:
Wednesday, 26 August 2026 | 12:00–14:00 BST
We’re taking the conversation much deeper with Giada Tramonti, Samantha Beek and Maria Paholik, exploring what trusting yourself actually looks like across different areas of your life.
We’ll talk about trusting yourself in your feminine energy and relationships, trusting your decisions in business and marketing, and learning to listen to your intuition without constantly second-guessing it.
And because sometimes the thing you really need is to ask about your situation, we'll finish with a 30-minute live Q&A for your questions.
About Samantha Beek
Samantha Beek is an Inner Circle Expert at The Pink Sphere.
Samantha Beek helps entrepreneurs move from uncertainty to confidence and from intention to action through practical, purpose-driven marketing strategies. She provides clear, actionable guidance to help businesses attract the right customers, strengthen their brand presence and turn marketing efforts into measurable progress.
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