🧠Weekly MindSweep No. 172 | What’s On My Mind | Confidence

Weekly Mind SweepConfidenceWhat's On My Mind
Written By Jamie Chapman

Let’s sweep the brain


🎬 Rather watch or listen instead of read? Now you can!

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In the MindSweep this week:

  1. Curated Conversation with curated GIF’s & puns (for your entertainment).

  2. Jamie’s Second Brain Corner: Links to references. Need a map? I’ve got you!

  3. What’s I’m Reading - Kate Hollis does it again


  4. Collaborations with Terri Hamilton (Thursday) & Shannon Giordano and the MetroWest Chamber of Commerce

  5. My face 💜 and a link to schedule your free consultation.

 

Parallel Parking Your Confidence: Mastering the Micro‑Skills of Self‑Trust

Confidence is hilarious. It lets you cold‑DM a stranger like you’ve known them since your sandbox days, then slams the brakes when you learn you’re going to meet up with them and the café’s parking is 100 percent “thread‑the‑needle” parallel parking curbside spots. 

Cue the sweaty palms and that tiny dashboard goblin whispering,

“Remember driver’s ed? Me neither.”

Let’s sweep the brain


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That’s exactly where I landed after sliding—quite smoothly, I might add—into a dreamy prospect’s Instagram DMs. We vibed, swapped relatable memes, and scheduled a downtown coffee chat.  

A week out, my mind was buzzing about the collaboration—a dopamine rush of ways we could work together, the people I wanted to connect them with.

We’re going to have the best time.

Two days before our connection, I researched the new-to-me location and found the dreaded words, “Street parking only.”

No parking lot.

Parallel spots.

No garage.

Translation: your parallel‑parking skills are going on stage.

Just a long curb and a row of brunch‑goers perched at sidewalk tables. Every coffee sipper, poised to judge my parallel parking. I can feel their eyes, and I’m silently cursing my driving instructor from 30 years ago, who let me pass my driving test with a less-than-gracious parallel parking job.

On meeting day, I Googled “parallel park without crying,” my heart was thumping louder than my turn signal.

Winging it ≠ reckless; it’s stacking micro‑skills

For creative entrepreneurs, a micro‑logistics detail like that can snowball faster than an email thread after someone hits Reply All with a ‘quick thought’.

The jitters show up precisely because we care and have already stacked the micro‑skills to handle them.

Nobody nails a perfect curb slide the first time. You practiced mirrors, depth perception, and the feel of your steering wheel.

These are all tiny foundations now running on autopilot.

Business confidence works the same way:

  1. Preparation you forgot you did: research, failed launches, late‑night brainstorming. All the ways that you’ve built the foundation of being prepared.

  2. Repeated exposure: every elevator pitch, discovery call, and proposal. You are ready.

  3. Mindset reps: tiny re‑frames, moments of self‑compassion, the “I’ll figure it out” or “I’ve survived harder things” mantra.

Together, those become your silent co‑pilot when the curb looks too close for comfort.

What’s happening in your brain when you feel the curbside jitter?

  • You spot the space and your amygdala yells, “Danger—public humiliation possible!”

  • Your prefrontal cortex fires up the parking plan: mirror, signal, reverse.

  • Dopamine dangles the reward: Imagine that smooth park and confident stroll into the cafĂ©.

  • If you freeze, fear wins.

But nudge the wheel, and your brain drips a quick dopamine hit for taking action.

Confidence compounds through action, feedback, and adjustment.

Low confidence is often just a brain waiting for data. Regardless of how many tries it took, you did it!

Here are 5 lessons from the curb:

  1. Show up anyway – Confidence first feels like vulnerability. Progress arrives in reverse.

  2. Use micro‑feedback. A gentle tap of the tires on the curb says, “Straighten up;” a client’s raised eyebrow says, “Explain that a bit more.”

  3. Validate internally – Brunch spectators may judge, but your silent “Nice job” lands faster and lasts longer.

  4. Scarcity is a myth – Spots and opportunities open when you’re willing to circle once more.

  5. Know when to drive on – Real confidence sometimes means saying, Not my spot, next block.

A curbside confidence drill:

  1. Pick a small, slightly uncomfortable action: a cold DM, a curbside parking spot in a deserted area, scheduling that first meeting.

  2. Visualize the maneuver: traffic, spectators, your steady hands on the wheel.

  3. Execute even when your pulse spikes: the goal is reps, not perfection.

  4. Review the footage: What felt smoother than expected? Where did you over‑correct?

  5. Celebrate: both the snug fit and the courage to pull out and try again.

Parallel parking isn’t just a driving test flashback—it’s a pop quiz in self‑trust.

Once you’ve inched into that space (or pitched that bold idea), kill the engine, unclench your jaw, and notice how your nervous system downshifts. That is the sound of fresh neural pavement curing under your tires.

Give yourself a fist‑pump, grab that latte, and strut into the meeting like you own the sidewalk.

You just parked your doubts and drove up your confidence.

(It’s wheely impressive.)

Every confident entrepreneur was once a shaky parallel‑parker. Those first nerve‑racking taps against the curb are how you teach your brain the geometry of courage. Each tiny adjustment—back a hair, straighten, breathe—pours fresh concrete onto a neural highway that delivers your next big idea faster and smoother.

Keep turning the wheel, trust the process, and soon you’ll be sliding into challenges so effortlessly the valet will be asking you for parallel‑parking tips.

My questions for you this week :

  • How has external validation shaped your route so far, and what internal cues can you start trusting instead?

  • When was a time you chose to cruise past the wrong opportunity, and what did that teach you about confidence?

Reply and share with me!

Are you a like-hearted entrepreneur ready for support? Let's connect.

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Jamie’s Second Brain Corner:

[X] Did someone say MindSweep MAP?! Learn more about my Personalized MindSweep Mapping Process

[X] Follow Chickbook Creative on Substack!

Where to find me

MONDAY: 8 am - Curated Conversation - Zoom

Changing the world, one Monday Morning at a time. Learn more + Sign Up for a Monday morning reminder!

What I’m reading

Shy Creatures

Author: Clare Chambers

My friends, Kate Hollis does it again.

Kate is a dear friend, a brilliant librarianist, and a phenomenal writer. When she comes across a book she knows will speak directly to my soul, she lands it—every single time.

Shy Creatures by Clare Chambers moved me deeply—especially the way William, the main character, thinks and experiences the world. His quiet, internal landscape felt achingly familiar, and the tenderness with which the world slowly met him, supported him, and made space for his uniqueness left a lasting imprint on me.

Find it where you browse  for books.

Collaborations!

Join us Friday, May 9th, at the MetroWest Chamber of Commerce for this two-hour interactive business community experience.

We'll discuss ways to cultivate business through Sales, Marketing, and Communication methods that support relationship building, showing up authentically, and connecting deeper with colleagues and the people you serve.

9-11 am - Open discussion, community support, brainstorming ideas

Join me in meeting business owners in our community. You'll leave with new tools to help you make connections and build your business!

Free; Registration is required: REGISTRATION.

Mindful Connections

Connecting like-hearted entrepreneurs to build relationships, offering support, understanding their passions, and sharing their names in rooms of opportunity.

Join us Thursdays, 12-1 pm EST.

12:00 - Take 5—a guided meditation with Terri Hamilton of Positively Terri to ground your week with peace and focus.

12:05-1 pm Round-table Share

  • Who you are

  • The gifts you bring to the world

  • Who you serve

  • The answer to a Curated question to spark conversation.


If you found this on the web, sign up to join us!

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In other news


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Jamie Chapman

Oh, Hi! I’m Jamie Chapman

I’m a Small Business Consultant who recognizes you might do things a little bit differently, and I’m here for it. I help support small businesses in a wide variety of industries and have a special place in my heart for neurodiverse entrepreneurs and ADHD business owners.


If you find that you’re often dancing to the beat of a pen tapping against your desk instead of your own drum, I see you and get you. And I want you to keep on dancing.


I value getting to know the whole person as a business owner and taking a holistic, human view of their needs. I meet you where you’re at and support you in getting to where you want to go.


I love watching small business owners thrive and feel proud of what they’re building.


Founder and Owner of Chickbook Creative, I’ve gained years of career experience in systems, processes, accountability, leadership, and project management. I bring a multi-faceted approach to problem-solving and extensive knowledge of executive functioning, habit formation, and the neurodiverse and ADHD entrepreneur’s mind.


I see and understand the ADHD entrepreneur brain at work, and I'm passionate about supporting neurodivergent business owners in a way that lets them shine their light and bring their gifts to the world for all to see (and pay them for!).

https://www.chickbookcreative.com
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🧠Weekly MindSweep No. 171 | Manage Your Mind | Confidence