Tips to Get Rid of Self-doubt

Tips to Get Rid of Self-doubt

By Tiya Gorain

It’s not unusual to experience self-doubts in life, specially when faced with challenging situations. Self-doubts can hold us back from seizing opportunities and attaining our goals. Even though it can be dangerous to absolutely have no self-doubts at all, as they can help us in recognising limitations; if left unchecked, self-doubts can stop us from moving forward. Here are some tips to overcome self-doubts.

1. Don’t seek continuous validation from others.

It’s a good idea to sometimes ask for people’s advice, feedback and inputs. But if you find yourself always asking for others’ validation and approval before making decisions or taking any steps, it will weaken your faith in yourself and increase your self-doubt. For example, if you are writing a book or designing a website, and if you keep asking for people’s opinion and changing things according to their suggestions, the end product won’t reflect the true you. It’s alright to take advice but in the end, make sure your decisions are based on what’s right for you and what you truly want.

2. Don’t compare yourself to others.

We often experience self-doubt because we are scared that we won’t achieve something at the same level as someone else. This can hamper our progress and stop us from achieving success. It’s best to understand that everyone’s journey, circumstances, definition of success etc are different and instead of comparing with others, we should focus on our own journey and achievements. Whether we are happy with our position in life shouldn’t depend on where other people are at.

3. Doubt your doubts.

Our doubts are often not the truth, but what our mind creates fuelled by certain fears. When you start doubting yourself, try to challenge the thoughts. For example before you are about to speak at an event, a small voice in your head might say “What if no one likes your talk? What if the audience laughs at you?”. Challenge this by saying “But what if they love my talk and there is deafening applause when I finish?”.

4. Build up a support group.

Our circle either fuels our self-doubts or boosts our self confidence. Try to surround yourself with people who believes in you and will be on your side. People who can remind you of your abilities and self-worth when you are unable to do so yourself.