Guest blog from Judith Sabah,
Confidence & Mindset Coach | Keynote Speaker | Workshops | Facilitator
Judith Sabah is a certified Confidence & Mindset Coach, Speaker and Facilitator, with qualifications in Neuro-Linguistic Programming (NLP) and Breakthrough Coaching. She’s also currently working towards the Level 3 Award in Education and Training.
With over 21 years’ experience in marketing and communications, including senior leadership roles across the charity sector, Judith works with individuals, teams and organisations to help people strengthen their confidence, mindset and self-belief, and step into their potential with greater clarity and purpose.
Does it take a lot? Or does it take a little to back yourself? What do you think?
Backing yourself means just that, backing yourself, trusting in yourself and believing in yourself.
And it can start from the smallest action. It doesn’t have to be big or noisy! As the saying goes “little drops of water can make a mighty ocean.”
So what’s stopping you?
As fundraisers you spend countless hours convincing others to believe in your charity, cause and beneficiaries and that is no mean feat! You’re convincing people from all walks of life and seniority, be it funders, policy makers, decision makers, the general public etc. So one would
think it would be so easy to go from getting others to believe in your work to now YOU believing in YOU.
The question is are you putting the same energy in getting others to believe in your charity and cause, to now you backing and believing yourself.
Yes.
Or.
No.
Why can’t you just back yourself in the way that you want to…?
Am I conveniently putting obstacles in my way?
Sometimes I think one can over complicate things, overthink things. You get to a point where the overthinking stops you from moving forwards in the way you would like to and to really start backing and believing in yourself.
And then you start to make excuses, because that’s easier right?
I’m not sure I can do this…
Maybe when I…
But other people are…
And the others tell you.
You’re great at…
You can do it…
You should do…
But if you don’t believe it, it won’t land.
In coaching, there’s a concept called “Secondary Gain.” Put simply, it means that sometimes there can be benefits for an individual to hold on to a problem (i.e staying comfortable), even when they genuinely want things to change.
When it comes to backing yourself, that might look like staying quiet instead of speaking up, not going for an opportunity, or putting something off because staying where you are feels safer than moving forwards.
So although part of you may want to move forward, another part of you may be trying to protect you from feeling nervous, stepping into the unknown or worrying that things might not work out.
And sometimes, understanding this is the first step towards backing yourself differently.
What are the things that you’re trying to protect yourself from? Are they valid or are they obstacles that you’re conveniently creating?
And it’s ok if this is part of the reason that’s stopping you from backing yourself, it’s better to be honest than to tell yourself it’s something else.
What I’ve found in my work as a Confidence & Mindset Coach
In my work as a Confidence & Mindset coach I help people reconnect with their confidence, work on their self-belief and reduce negative thinking. I see time and time again people who are more than capable, but lack the confidence and self-belief.
And once we start to unpick things we see that there are blockers such as negative thinking and fears that all play in stopping someone from truly backing themselves.
What are the steps I can take to start backing myself?
I think that if you trusted yourself a little more, you’d be surprised at what this could do for your self-belief and for backing yourself.
I know that imposter syndrome can push people back. I work with clients all the time on this, some people cringe at the thought of posting on LinkedIn and when they don’t always get feedback from funders, which can play havoc with confidence levels.
But that’s when you need to dig deep and TRUST and BELIEVE in YOU, focus on the outcome that you want. Look at all the things that you’re doing well, the things that are going well, things that you’re great at, that you get positive feedback on, that you enjoy and hold on to those. These are great tools for believing in yourself, trusting in yourself and owning what you bring to the table of life and being able to start backing yourself that little bit more.
And when I say trust, I don’t use that word lightly, trust, trust, trust in you. I always tell my clients, in challenging times or when you’re feeling uncertain, scared or unsure, “How can you be your own cheerleader?”
So as I end I ask the question again “How can you start to back yourself more?”
It doesn’t have to be big or noisy.
As I said, sometimes it can start with one small step, a quiet step even.
And then another.
And then another.
And before you know it…
You’re moving away from where you are and towards where you want to be.
My hope for you is that you start to be honest and acknowledge and accept what may be stopping you from truly backing yourself. Write it down, make a note, call it out even. And then take the brave step to start backing and believing in yourself, evolving your story in your own way and at your own pace.
Don’t you think you deserve to?
What you believe about yourself, quietly shapes what you think is possible. Let’s go and get em! Remember the only thing that can limit you, is you…
Judith will be delivering The Confidence Session: What It Really Takes to Back Yourself at our Art of Fundraising Conference on 19th November 2026. She’s also one of our resident coaches as part of the Confident Charity Leaders Programme. For more details or to book your space –
To book Judith or find out more about her work:
E: hello@judithsabahmotivationalist.com
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/judithsabah/
Instagram: @judithsabahcoach
W: https://www.judithsabahmotivationalist.com/
This post was written by a guest contributor. The views expressed are the author’s own and don’t necessarily reflect the positions of Fundraising Everywhere. Content from guest authors may reflect different approaches, experiences, or perspectives to those covered in other events and training.