Clare Josa's favourite Italian word is the key to creating change in your life without having to wait for rock-bottom.
Her basta-moment coaching model is a way of helping clients to make the choice to change in a way that gets their thinking mind and nervous system acting as a team, rather than 'going to war' with eachother by pushing on through the fear.
Over the past 2+ decades, clients have told Clare their biggest regret was not working with her sooner, to clear out their hidden blocks. They wished they hadn't put up with 'coping' for so long. This inspired Clare to share her basta-moment strategies with the world, as long ago as 2016 in her book, Dare to Dream Bigger. It's also in Ditching Imposter Syndrome from 2019 and Coaching Imposter Syndrome from 2025.
Too many people wait for rock-bottom, and that's a truly painful place for triggering change. Instead, with Clare's basta-moment, you can create the conditions that make change accessible and lasting, at any time.
Read on to explore this model in detail.
Sharing Policy For The Basta-Moment
Clare Josa is on a mission to free the world from Imposter Syndrome, so she encourages sharing the name and key aspects of Clare's basta-moment philosophy, to help others. Please follow these guidelines:
- Attribution: When sharing, credit "Clare Josa, author of Ditching Imposter Syndrome" and link back to this page, with the clickable text: Basta-Moment
- Restrictions: Content may be used for personal or non-commercial purposes only, unless otherwise agreed and licensed. Sharing in free-to-view public articles, podcasts, videos, and social media posts is permitted, with proper attribution, but not in marketing materials, lead magnets, or paid programmes or products.
Thank you for wanting to make a positive difference in the world, whilst also respecting Clare Josa's intellectual property rights.
The Power of the Basta-Moment
Basta! is Clare's favourite Italian word - and her kids know it well. It means 'enough!' It can mean 'enough' as in 'stop' and 'enough' as in 'something suffices'. In her work supporting individuals and teams to feel Safe to THRIVE™, 'basta' plays an important role. And it's much needed.
Clare's 2024 Imposter Syndrome research study showed that 25% of your team mates will consider quitting this week due to Imposter Syndrome and burnout. Most of them will spend decades struggling with this, without getting the support they secretly want to set themselves free from this. But few will take action.
They need a basta-moment.
Where Did BASTA! Come From?
Clare has Italian ancestry, though she didn't speak the language when she was young, not learning it until her twenties. She came across a word she knew from studying engineering in Germany: Basta!
And as her work moved from engineering to market research to personal development, she realised its power when it comes to deciding to make change.
She had watched so many clients and students wait and wait to create change, and she realised that there was one thing she couldn't do for them, no matter how hard she tried: she couldn't say 'yes' to the change they wanted.
Change doesn't fail because the person doesn't have enough willpower. It fails because their nervous system hasn't yet said 'yes'. And that's what BASTA! does for them.
clare josa
Here's a podcast episode where Clare guides you through the most important belief you need for personal growth:
the three-lettered word that can change your life?
Yes.
And having a basta-moment is what gets you meaning it.
Clare Josa
What's going on with the nervous system?
How is it getting in the way of change?
And why isn't 'insight' enough to get someone shifting out-of-date-habits?
If you've ever had a client experience a massive 'aha' moment that should have changed everything, only for nothing to actually change, this short video explains why cognitive insight alone often isn't enough to shift behaviour, why some breakthroughs need to happen at the nervous system level before they create real change, and how this connects to the basta-moment.
If you've ever felt like you'd done your best coaching and mentoring work and the client still got stuck, this will explain what was really going on.
And here's a podcast episode on exactly how having a basta-moment fast-tracks changing habits:
Having a basta-moment brings such relief.
The 'magic' of basta is how positive it feels. It's not about fighting, it's about freedom.
Want To Dive In With Solutions?
Here are some of the ways Clare Josa could help you to tackle Imposter Syndrome, including understanding the power of a basta-moment.
ditching imposter syndrome book
Section one of the book is great for this. It guides you through what you most need to know, to get you read to clear Imposter Syndrome, even ditching the myths that hold people back.
Available in hardback, paperback, Kindle, and audiobook formats.
Clare's Dare to Dream bigger book
Dare to Dream Bigger - Clare's 2016 book - is the first place she shared the basta-moment philosophy with the public-at-large. The book is a step-by-step guide for having the impact your ideas and dreams deserve, based on Clare co-changing EU tax law, despite being allergic to accounting.
coaching imposter syndrome book
Written for managers, leaders, HR professionals, coaches and consultants, Clare Josa's 2025 book - Coaching Imposter Syndrome - guides you through on a practical level how to use the power of a basta-moment for Imposter Syndrome, and how to approach the conversation.
Want to share strategies with colleagues & clients?
Clare Josa teaches deep-acting strategies for helping clients to create healthy, empowering basta-moments, and then the tools needed for the identity-level work, in her coach certification programmes. She covers what teams most need to know about this in her keynotes and corporate workshops. Scroll down to find out about working with Clare.
Don't Know Clare Josa Yet?
Clare is considered a global authority in the fields of Imposter Syndrome, burnout and sustainable performance for individuals and teams. She has been an international keynote speaker for over 20 years.
Her research is cited in PhDs and taught on MBAs, worldwide, and she is the creator of the life-changing Safe to THRIVE™ and Natural Resilience Method® frameworks, which she teaches at Facilitator and Master Coach levels, as well as in the world's first Imposter Syndrome App - Imposter Syndrome Hacks™.
The author of ten books, a reformed engineer, and the former Head of Market Research for one of the world's most disruptive brands, she blends science-backed practical inspiration with demystified ancient wisdom, to help you create breakthroughs in ways that are fast, fun and forever.