Even the most successful people work to overcome self-doubt sometimes. No matter how confident people may seem to you, deep down inside, a part of them feels self-doubt now and then. Feeling self-doubt isn’t the problem, though. The real problem is when you let self-doubt control you. Feeling self-doubt can cause you to become indecisive, potentially make the wrong decisions, and rule your life if you allow it. If you want to overcome the pattern of self-doubt and negative thinking, you must learn how to identify the ways that self-doubt can set in. Once you understand the root cause of your self-doubt, you can find strategies to overcome it.
#1 – Reach Out For Support
Remember that you are not alone in your feelings of self-doubt. Everyone struggles with it from time to time. Reach out to friends and family members who support you and do not judge you. Find an accountability partner to whom you can turn for support and advice when you need it. A life coach or a counselor makes great accountability partners and gives you a lot of advice and tips on how to deal with your specific struggles.
#2 – Keep A Journal
Another way to overcome self-doubt is to keep a journal. Write about all of the reasons you can think of to believe in yourself again. Remind yourself of your accomplishments and what you are good at doing. You can write about ways you experienced self-doubt but pushed through it and experienced success. Try to focus on the positives of the situation and what you learned from it.
#3 – Learn To Practice Gratitude
While you are journaling, you can also keep a gratitude journal. Think about and write about the things you are grateful for in your life. Even the bad things you experienced can be turned around into a lesson that you learned that helped you in other areas of your life.
#4 – Stop Comparing Yourself To Others
If you compare yourself to others who you think are more successful, stronger, or more confident than you, you will only feel worse about yourself. Not only will you experience more self-doubt, but you will also experience feelings of jealousy and bitterness. Remember that we have no idea what other people have gone through to get where they are. You only know the truth about yourself.
#5 – Set Small Achievable Goals
When you find yourself experiencing self-doubt, try setting small goals that you can quickly and easily achieve. Once you start experiencing success, it can boost your motivation and confidence again.
#6 – Learn From Your Mistakes
Don’t beat yourself up or wallow in it when you make a mistake. Accept and learn from your mistakes. Sometimes it helps to write about the experience in your journal, focusing on what you learned from it or what you would do differently if it were to happen again.
#7 – Know When It’s Ok To Walk Away
There are times when walking away from something that’s not working out is not a failure or giving up. It may be a business, a relationship, or something else that isn’t working out. If it causes you too much stress that you can’t overcome, it may be time to walk away and move on. All of that stress and negativity can eat away at your self-confidence and cause you to doubt yourself. Find what works for you and brings you joy.
#8 – It’s Ok To Be Uncomfortable
You can’t grow if you don’t experience some discomfort in life. Nothing ever changes if you never step out of your comfort zone. When you step out into something new, you will feel a little uncomfortable, fearful, and unsure of yourself. Those feelings are normal. Just remember that success is waiting for you on the other side.
#9 – Assess Your Strengths And Weaknesses
Do you know what your strengths and weaknesses are? Once you know what your strengths are, you can develop them more. When you know your weaknesses, you can work on improving in those areas.
#10 – Learn To Respect Obstacles
Everyone has obstacles in their life that may hold them back or cause them not to feel fulfilled in areas of their lives. These obstacles can lead to feelings of self-doubt. The way to deal with obstacles is to respect the fact that you have something to learn or gain from the experience.