Letting Go of Self-Doubt

Ever heard about “the fear of failure”? You know, those little voices in our heads that too often hold us back? Well, that fear often comes from self-doubt. It paralyzes us and doesn’t even let us attempt to do things, because “we already know we’ll fail“. 

A simple task can take hours and your inner critic keeps telling you that it’s not good enough. 

Perfect example is when I was looking back on a blog post I wrote waaay back when and had said:

“Jumping into a new situation or trying something different can be scary. It’s not always as easy as some people make it look. Take this blog post for example, for the past 5 years, I’ve been debating whether or not I should even start a blog even though I’ve always wanted to. Who would want to read what I have to say? Will I get judged harshly? All of these thoughts and more floated through my mind until I realized that I was letting my fear get in the way of something I so desperately wanted.”

Granted I ended up scraping my trial blog, but what I realized was that self-doubt kills more dreams than failure ever will. And if I would have let my fears get in the way,  I wouldn’t be able to have this amazingly fulfilling vehicle to share weekly articles with y’all today. 

Take away? Like Dorothy and those red magic shoes, we all have the power to overcome self-doubt.  

Here are some ways to get you started.

HOW CAN SOMEONE OVERCOME SELF-DOUBT?

STOP THE COMPARISON GAME

Everyone is different and comparing yourself to others is just not fair to you or your potential, all of which gets snuffed out in the comparison game.  

This is especially true because you never know what the person or situation you hold in high regard went through to be the example they put forth today.  

Or, as I was taught, stay out of other people’s gardens cause the flowers may look beautiful but you just don’t know the story behind what your eyes first see.  

YOU’RE YOUR OWN WORST CRITIC

Guilty as charged! Most of the time, I expect myself to be an expert or dang near perfect at anything I try my hand at, even if it’s the first time I’m trying it.  Yes, I know this makes no sense whatever, but that’s one of the cons of being a perfectionist. (Will have to write about that in a future post). 

What have I learned from working myself into a tizzy? Embrace a learning mind and go slow. Try different things and see what works best for you. Proving to myself that I can do things out of my comfort zone and enjoy them is the best wisdom I can pass on. Besides, being too harsh on yourself won’t get you started it will instead get you in reverse!

UNDERSTAND THAT YOU’RE NOT A FAILURE JUST BECAUSE YOU FAILED

When you have a setback you may start viewing everything from a negative perspective as you tend to think that if one thing didn’t go as planned, then it’s all downhill from there—hence, there’s no point in continuing to take action—right? Wrong!  

Oh Alice in Wonderland, you don’t have to spiral down the spinning tunnel.  Stick out your foot and climb back out.  You were made too amazing to let doubts rob you of blessings.

Setbacks happen to everyone who takes chances. Instead of punishing yourself, try asking:

• What is one thing I can learn from that situation?
• Can I apply that new knowledge to other aspects of my life for the better?
• What is one little thing I can do right now that will help me move forward?
• Was I (eventually) grateful for the opportunity to learn and grow?

You shouldn’t feel like self-doubt is a weakness, something you should hide from others or be even ashamed of. Self-doubt is a feeling, just like any other. We all have it, some people more than others, but we all go through it at some point in our lives. Truth is it’s okay, heck it’s natural to feel it. 

Want some more self-improvement articles? Check out some of my other posts:

• Signs You’re Stressed AF
• Why We Don’t Keep New Year’s Resolutions and How to Stick to Them
• 3 Ways to Include more Self-Love in Your Routine

How do you overcome self-doubt?