‘Our doubts are traitors,
and make us lose the good we oft might win,
by fearing to attempt’ – William Shakespeare
Let’s talk about our good old friend. The friend that can leave you feeling unworthy, doubting yourself and place barriers in your life. The friend that you know holds you back but you still invite around anyway. The friend that becomes such a burden that you finally wake up and understand that friend needs to GO. That friend is self-doubt.
From a young age I have been someone who was very excited about projects and always made the effort to find new ways to do things. I’m a very ambitious person, always goal setting and trying out new things. However, despite all my efforts and ambitions, I nearly never seemed to get to where I want to be.
That was due to the self-doubt.
I used to talk myself out of many opportunities as I didn’t feel confident in myself. I would tell myself that I shouldn’t go for it or somehow convince myself that I was no longer interested. I wasn’t sure if I had a fear of failure or I was crippled with the anxiety of not being adequate enough in many areas in my life. I no longer wanted to have those feelings of disappointment in myself. Enough was enough. In the midst of that confusion I realised that I needed to make a change but I didn’t know where to start.
After a few trial and errors, I finally came to an understanding with myself that self-doubt will no longer have a prominent voice in my mind.
I’ve decided to share a few quick tips below on how I overcame self doubt and hope that it could help someone.
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4 QUICK TIPS ON HOW TO DEAL WITH SELF-DOUBT
- Address the Problem
Addressing the problem head on is one of the best ways to shut down the self doubt. You want to know what exactly has lead you to this way of thinking. In some cases some people develop this due to an experience of personal disappointment or pain. You want to confront the root cause so that you can understand why you feel this way. Best option is to seek external help from either a trusted person, a counselor or a therapist.
- Fall in love with yourself again
Most times after dealing with self-doubt you feel like absolute shit. You’ve spent some time telling yourself you’re not good enough, you no longer feel motivated and you no longer feel like yourself. Put energy into feeling like yourself again. Do activities that you enjoy and spend some time alone getting to know yourself again. This helped me build my confidence and trust myself again.
- Take the leap
Stop thinking, take a deep breath and then do it. Give yourself that little push to overcome that little inner voice and go for what it is that you’re shying away from doing.
• Surround yourself with people who uplift you
As much as self-doubt is internal, I feel that it’s important to surround yourself with people who encourage you to be your best self. When you’re around those who constantly put you down and dismiss you, it’s easy for you to continuously doubt and think low of yourself.
Hope this post sparks a change on your mindset towards your self-doubt and allows you to grow confidence in yourself.
Millennial Femme 