Episode 346: Certainty Is a Skill (And You Can Learn It)

Certainty vs. Confidence: Here’s the Real Difference

Most of us were taught that certainty means confidence — that bold, “everything always works out for me” kind of energy. It doesn’t. Confidence is built on evidence: the more competent you become, the more confident you feel, and the more confident you feel, the more competent you become. It’s a beautiful cycle, but it’s reactive. It needs proof first.

Certainty is different. It’s generative — a present-moment practice you do before the proof shows up, and it’s one of the biggest pieces of living a wealthy life. Not just a life with more money in it, though that’s part of it. A life where you trust your next move even when you can’t yet explain why. In this episode, I break down what certainty really is, why it’s not the same as confidence, and how you can start practicing it this week.

Confidence says, “I’ve done this before — I can do it again.” Certainty says, “I haven’t done this yet — and I know it’s already done.”

One is evidence-based. One is generative. And only one of them requires you to wait.

In this episode, you’ll hear:

• The vineyard story from Italy that shows why grapes — and you — dig deeper roots under pressure
• My jeans story: what happened when I listened to a “not right now” moment I couldn’t explain
• The billion-dollar lesson from Jamie Kern Lima on leaning into your own knowing over someone else’s “no”
• Why your imagination is either your greatest asset or your biggest liability
• Two questions to ask yourself this week to start practicing certainty and stop delaying your next move

Listen to the full episode

Watch the Full Episode

https://youtu.be/XMCAKT3wTnc

 What a Vineyard in Italy Taught Me About Certainty

Nature doesn’t worry about running out. Trees don’t panic about whether they’ll get enough water — they just build deeper roots. I used to lead tours through Italy, and there was a vineyard in Montepulciano that made the best wine I’ve ever had. Before we tasted a single glass, the guide would explain why they intentionally underwater the grapes. It forces the roots to dig deeper, and deeper roots make a stronger vine and a better wine. He’d always point out that a lot of vineyards in America overwater their grapes — the roots stay shallow, and you can taste the difference.

Here’s what I want you to notice. When the grapes are underwatered, they don’t panic. They don’t pull up a spreadsheet or check their bank account every five minutes. They just dig deeper, because on some level, there’s a certainty that there’s enough — a certainty that they’ll be provided for.

When you’re certain there’s enough, you stop panicking and start digging deeper roots.

That’s the certainty I want to teach you. And it starts with staying present. Right now, in this moment — are you not okay? Are you breathing? Can you use your energy for good, even if there’s pain underneath it? If the answer is yes, that’s the knowing. That’s the certainty that gets you through the dry season.

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My White Jean Story: Trusting a “Not Right Now” Moment I Couldn’t Explain

A couple of years ago I had a pair of white jeans in my cart from a company I love — small-batch, made in the U.S., the perfect cut. I loved them. I had the money. It was the right season. And just as I was about to hit purchase, something in me said, don’t do that. Not right now. I didn’t have a reason. I just listened.

A few weeks later, I was in Las Vegas filming another podcast with my friend Michelle. She came running downstairs holding a pair of jeans from that exact same company — the brand had accidentally sent her two pairs and told her to keep the extra one. Same cut. Same color. Same size I would have ordered. The jeans I didn’t buy found their way to me anyway.

That’s certainty. Sometimes it shows up as a deliberate financial move, which I’ll walk through below. Other times it’s smaller and stranger than that — a nudge that doesn’t make sense until later.

Once you’re in certainty, you start trusting your intuition — even when it doesn’t make sense yet.

The Billion-Dollar Lesson From Jamie Kern Lima

I love this story from Jamie Kern Lima’s book, Believe It. Jamie is the founder of IT Cosmetics, and there was a point in her journey when she had less than $1,000 left in the bank. She’d heard “no” more times than most of us could stand. A last-minute investment deal looked like it might finally save the business — and then the investor called and said no. When she asked why, he told her no one would buy makeup from someone who looked like her.

She writes that in that moment:

She “had to switch from leaning into his no to my own knowing.” — Jamie Kern Lima, Believe It

She kept going. She sold IT Cosmetics for over a billion dollars. There’s a knowing inside you, too. You’ve felt it. But what most of us practice, instead of leaning into that knowing, is questioning it — waiting for the spreadsheet, the permission, the proof.

Why Your Imagination Is Either Your Greatest Asset — Or Your Biggest Liability

Humans are the only species on the planet that can picture a tomorrow different from today. You’ll never see a vacation poster for a giraffe. A giraffe can’t picture a life outside the one it’s living right now. We can. That’s the gift: we can create something from nothing, because we can see it before it exists.

Think about Michelangelo looking at a block of marble and seeing the statue of David already inside it. He didn’t sit down and wonder if carving it out would pay the bills. He picked up the chisel because he was certain David was already in there — he just had to remove everything that wasn’t him. Now picture the version of that story where he looks at the same marble and says, “I don’t know if I can make money doing this.” That’s what it looks like when we take our own imagination — the same gift that lets us build something from nothing — and use it to talk ourselves out of the thing we’re most capable of.

Because that’s exactly what most of us do with it. Instead of asking “what if this works?” we ask “what if it all falls apart, what if I’m not good enough, what if they hate me?” Same imagination. Same energy. Being certain something won’t work costs exactly as much as being certain it will. So why do we keep giving the negative version more value?

How to Start Practicing Certainty This Week

Certainty is generative — it creates your next move instead of waiting for evidence to justify it. Think about how promotions actually work in corporate America: the advice is always to start doing the job before you have it. There’s no proof you’ll get the promotion. You practice as if you already have it, and that practice generates the result.

The more you practice this, you’ll be shocked at how quickly things start to shift. But it is a practice — and you’ll watch your brain do exactly what brains do. You’ll go from ” What if I did a really great job?” straight to, “Oh no, they’re going to hate me,” swinging to the negative as fast as it can. And there’s a scientific reason for that: the human brain has something called negativity bias, and it’s about five times more likely to swing negative than positive.

So today, I want you to start this practice — a muscle-building practice — to remind you that you can be certain, and that right now, in this exact moment, you can generate your best next step by implementing this practice today…. 

1. Open the notes app on your phone or grab a notebook and pen.
2. Write down the thing that you feel you’re up against right now — Are you struggling with something, is it a decision you need to make, the next move you’ve been sitting on, maybe a job you’re thinking of leaving, or a relationship you need to end or start? Whatever came to mind first, that’s it.

Now, ask yourself these two questions:

• First: what would I do if I already had this? Whatever “this” is for you — what would you do right now if it were already handled? 
• Second: what would I stop delaying? I love this one, because the number one cause of regret is always the same: we almost always regret the things we don’t do. Almost always.

So what are you delaying on, because you’re not sure, because you’re waiting for proof? There is no proof other than your action.

Your action is the proof. Your action is the catalyst.

You’re Already Okay Right Now — That’s the Certainty

Put your hand on what’s true in this exact moment. You’re breathing. You’re here. You can use your energy for good, even if there’s pain underneath it. That’s not toxic positivity — it’s not pretending everything’s fine when it isn’t. It’s coming back to this moment and making your next decision from the truth that you’re already okay, instead of from the fear that you might not be.

We almost always regret the things we don’t do.

That’s the foundation certainty is built on. Not bravado. Not proof. Just the present-moment knowing that whatever you do today will make tomorrow better — and the willingness to act on it before anyone hands you permission.

Resources Mentioned in This Episode

• Believe It by Jamie Kern Lima

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Related Episodes You’ll Love

Episode 1: Don’t Live a Life of Almosts — A look at why we regret the things we don’t do far more than the things we do, and why this isn’t your practice life. Listen here

Episode 339: Trust Your Intuition in Business — A Lesson in Serenity and the Next Play, with Bron Watson — A deeper look at what it takes to trust your own knowing in business decisions, before the outcome is guaranteed. Listen here

Episode 331: How to Quiet the Noise and Hear Your Intuition with Diana Firth — Diana and I talk about clearing the mental clutter that drowns out your inner knowing, so you can actually hear it. Listen here

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My Free Gift to You — Let’s Talk About Your Business

If this episode has you thinking about where you’ve been waiting for proof instead of trusting what you already know, let’s talk about what practicing certainty could look like in your business. As my free gift to Girlfriends, I offer a complimentary 30-minute discovery call.

Curious what this looks like inside a full program? Take a look at the Abundance Academy — this is exactly the kind of work we do inside.

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Connect with Me

• Instagram: @thesarahwalton
• LinkedIn: Sarah Walton
• Free resources for you
• Join the Game On Girlfriend® community — subscribe to the podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or YouTube

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About Sarah Walton

Sarah Walton is a wealth consciousness coach, strategic advisor, and the host of the Game On Girlfriend® podcast. Her mission is simple: to put more money in the hands of more women. She helps women entrepreneurs build profitable, sustainable businesses without burnout — working through both the mindset and the strategy sides of growth. Because when women have more financial power, they don’t just keep it — they use it to take care of their families, support their communities, and build something bigger than themselves. Through her programs — including the Abundance Academy and The Art of Receiving — along with her online courses and one-on-one coaching, Sarah works with women who are ready to build profitable businesses and use that financial power to make a real difference in the world around them.