Unfortunately self-doubt is an all too common experience – that incessant, destructive voice that occupies our mind, reminding us of our own inherent weaknesses. Self-doubt can be troubling and holding us back from our opportunities and it makes starting or finishing things harder than they need to be.
Of course, at one time or another we all question whether or not we are doing enough, being enough, or going to be successful enough, but left unchecked, self-doubt can be a debilitating thought pattern that sabotages our chances for success.
Sure, self-doubt is part of our human experience and a natural response to the challenges life throws at us, but it doesn’t have to stop us from overcoming these obstacles and reaching our goals. It is possible to defeat self-doubt and redirect our energy towards a more productive way of thinking.
Here are our TOP 10 tips to beat self-doubt and unleash your inner genius.
#1 STOP
When your inner doubts start to bubble up, you need to be quick and not let them get out of control and grow from a whisper to a steady stream of discouraging thoughts. Instead, talk back to those doubtful thoughts and either shout or say: STOP! We are not going to go down this road again. It can be quite powerful to actually say the word stop out loud, because it disrupts our thought patterns and can prevent that voice of self-doubt to take over.
#2 Train Yourself Daily
There is no magic pill that simply beats self-doubt into submission and instead builds rock-solid self-confidence. It’s an incremental process you need to work on every single day and one way to do it, is to have the courage to take action, even if that voice of self-doubt is telling you, you won’t succeed. Prove that inner voice wrong and train your self-confidence every single day with small, bite size actions that will over time create dramatic change that will last.
#3 Doubt Your Doubts
Ultimately self-doubt is fear made manifest in order to protect us from loss. However, more often than not, self-doubt makes us lose out on what we could have gained by taking the leap of faith instead of fearing the attempt. Reality is, our doubts are not the truth. They are stories fueled by fear that we create about who we are, what we are capable of and what we are worth. Realize that your doubts are not the truth, in fact, they are just the opposite. So next time self-doubt tries to take over your life, ask yourself: What if the opposite were true?
#4 Forget About What Anybody Else is Thinking of You
Worrying about what others think of you, limits you and inhibits yourself. Just think about it, when you worry about what everybody else is thinking of you, you end up doing nothing out of fear of risking criticism and getting judged for doing something. Forget what others think of you and do something that is potentially huge for yourself, no matter what criticism you will receive. If you have dreams for your future, you have to go after them with everything you’ve got and let go of everybody else’s opinion, otherwise you will find yourself in a constant state of self-doubt.
#5 Focus on Past Successes
Research shows that how you remember your past determines how you feel about yourself in the present. Instead of focusing on the failures you’ve experienced, focus on the successes you have engineered. When you focus on your past successes you will hugely impact what kind of actions you will take next and even more importantly, how they will turn out.
#6 Celebrate Small Wins
How do you climb a mountain? One step at a time. Whenever you are stuck in a bout of self-doubt, your thoughts can become consumed by it, whether or not those thoughts are actually true and you end up making a mountain out of a tiny, little hill. Stop listening to your self-doubt and instead, celebrate every win, no matter how small it may be. Wins are extremely motivating because they show you that you’ve made real progress and when you celebrate your small wins, you will be able to create tremendous momentum to achieve your ultimate goals.
#7 Stop Comparing Your Accomplishments to Others
When we compare ourselves to others, more often than not we compare ourselves to their successes and their highlight reels, which they promote on social media, which allows self-doubt to creep up very quickly. A much better way to go about this is to compare yourself to yourself. See how far you’ve come. See what you’ve been able to overcome. See how you’ve kept going in the face of obstacles and challenges and how you were able to succeed and grow as a human being.
#8 Start a Journal
Writing a journal is a helpful tool in beating self-doubt for many reasons. A journal keeps a realistic record of your life and with that helps you to remember all the positive things you have in your life, the successes you were able to achieve and the obstacles you managed to overcome. It also gives you the opportunity to gain clarity more easily. Having your problems laid out on paper allows you to see things clearly and helps you to overcome doubts. Make pro and con lists and go through your emotions, feelings and thoughts at similar events from the past, which will give you great insight and a new perspective.
#9 Get a Boost of Optimism
Sometimes when we are in the midst of a spell of self-doubt, it’s a great idea to let someone else’s optimism, motivation and enthusiasm flow over you. Listen to and/or read positive books, audio-books or podcasts on a daily basis and spend about 20 minutes in the space of someone else’s optimism. This will do wonders in shifting your own self-doubt into positivity and you think more constructively about your issues.
#10 Sharpen Your Skills
If, for example, you are in doubt about your presentation skills at work, read books about it, watch successful speakers and emulate their behavior, practice in front of the mirror or a friend, videotape yourself and do everything you can to sharpen your skills and master your knowledge. The more you practice and sharpen your skills, the more competent, confident and relaxed you will be in upcoming situations.
We all struggle with self-doubt at some point or another. But if you can learn how to overcome self-doubt and free yourself from negative thinking, you can live with confidence and achieve anything you set your mind to.
STOP SELLING YOURSELF SHORT AND UNLEASH YOUR INNER GENIUS
Joschi & Monika
#BoldNaked
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