Why you’re still stuck at your current income level

Ok, I wanna tell you a story—so let’s rewind about half a decade real quick. I was hustling my ass off but forever NOT breaking through. I was doing all the right things (no, but seriously though… all of them 😑)—pushing, showing up, trying new strategies—but no matter what I did, my income wouldn’t budge, and my lifestyle didn’t change.

One night, I was mindlessly scrolling Instagram (as one does when they’re burned the hell out), and I saw a coach running a 5-day confidence challenge. I almost kept on scrolling because I honestly didn’t think confidence was my problem. (Spoiler: I was right, but more on that in a sec.)

I wasn’t struggling to show up, hit publish, or do the things. I wasn’t afraid to work hard. I just couldn’t figure out why I kept hitting an invisible ceiling.

But something in me (read: desperation) said just sign up. So I did… and then totally forgot about it.

A week later, I got an email reminder for Day 1 of the challenge, and I almost skipped it. I had a million reasons why I “didn’t have time,” and like I said, I didn't think confidence was my issue. 

BUT - about 60 seconds before I was about to write it off, I got a total God wink. A sign so obvious that I couldn’t ignore it. (And that's a story for another time.) 

So I showed up, and by the end of that challenge, things started shifting in ways they never had before.

Not because I was learning how to “be more confident.” Not because I was working on my mindset. Because, for the first time ever, I was doing something wayyy deeper—transformational identity work. (If it sounds fancy… it is. 😜)

Game. Officially. Changed.

Why you're still stuck (NO, it's not strategy, OR confidence)

If you’ve been working hard, showing up, and still not seeing the income and freedom you want, it’s easy to think:

💭 Maybe I need a better strategy.
💭 Maybe I just need to be more confident.
💭 Maybe I should invest in another business system, course, or degree.

🚫 Nope.
🚫 Nope.
🚫 NOPE.

You’re not stuck because you don’t have the right strategy.
You’re not stuck because you’re not working hard enough.
You’re not even stuck because you don’t have enough confidence.

You’re stuck because you’re still operating from the identity of the version of you who hasn’t created the level of income and freedom you want.

And that version of you has a security system that’s keeping her exactly where she is.

👀 Say, what?! Yep, keep reading.

The real reason you keep hitting an income ceiling

That voice in your head, the one that says:

• “I don’t have any skills or ideas people would pay for.”
• “I can’t do something totally different and waste my schooling.”
• “I need to figure this all out before I take action.”

Guess what? That voice isn’t just fear talking—it’s the security system of your old identity. 

Here’s how it works:

Your brain is wired for safety, not success. Two major systems control this:

1️⃣ The Survival Brain

🧠 Its job is to keep you safe, and it does that by keeping you in the familiar. The closer you get to stepping into a bigger version of yourself, the louder it screams: “No, no, no! This isn’t safe! This is too risky! Stay where you are!” It doesn’t care about your success. It only cares about avoiding uncertainty.

2️⃣ The Part of Your Brain That Controls Your Identity

🧠 This is where your sense of who you are lives. It reinforces old patterns based on your past, so when you try to shift into a new identity—one where you make more money, take bigger risks, and create more freedom—that part of your brain detects a conflict and sounds the alarm: Shut this down!

This is why you can know exactly what to do, but still hesitate, procrastinate, or second-guess yourself. Because the version of you that hasn’t yet made it to the next level is still running the show.

How this shows up:

• Scrolling Instagram, seeing other women succeed, and wondering why the hell you’re still stuck.
• Holding back from raising your rates or asking for the raise you know you deserve.
• Not fully selling your offer, or your value as an employee, even though you know it’s good.
• Playing small in your content, hesitating on big moves, or staying in “safe” mode.

The voice in your head telling you you're not good enough so you need to stay small (AKA your inner critic) isn’t just being a bully. It’s pulling you back into the identity that feels safe. That's right, your inner critic is actually just trying to keep you safe. That why the real work isn’t what most of the world is telling you it is.

🚫 It’s NOT finding a better strategy.
🚫 It’s NOT pushing through harder.
🚫 It’s NOT “building your confidence.”

It’s rewiring the identity you’re operating from so that success, income, and ease become who you are—not just something you’re chasing.

Shall we start to make a shift? Let’s.

Action Step: Call out the inner critic 

Your inner critic thrives when you let it run wild in the background. It loses power the moment you call it out and bring it into the light.

1️⃣ Write down the negative thoughts that play on repeat in your head.

• What is that voice actually saying? No, like literally, what are the words?
• What has your inner critic been telling you about yourself that you’ve been assuming is true?
• What limits has your inner critic told you that you have?

2️⃣ Ask yourself: Would the version of me who already has what I want believe this? Would she accept everything you just wrote above as truth?"

Your inner critic is not the truth. You’ve just heard it so often that you’ve accepted it without questioning it. And that stops today.

This is just the beginning...

Recognizing the inner critic is Step 1. Shifting it is Step 2—that blog is coming soon. But here’s the bottom line: Nothing changes until YOU do. So for now, get that inner critic out of your head and onto paper. That’s where the rewiring starts.

Did this help? Then don’t miss Step 2, subscribe below! And follow me on IG (@alirspicer) for real talk, tools, and transformational truths to help you create the income + freedom you really want. 💃🏽