2 Powerful Ways To Overcome Self-Doubt

Self-doubt can destroy someone’s progress, it can crush a dream, and it can stop a great idea in its tracks. When you can learn how to be aware of your self-doubt and use it for good, you will be amazed at what you are capable of.

There is a phrase in the English language that is incredibly damaging. This phrase creates self-doubt and stops people from accomplishing big things in their lives. You may have even used it today.

The phrase is I can’t… or when someone tells you can’t… Think of the last time you told yourself, I can’t or I’m not capable. After you said I can’t, were you right?

Turn I Can’t to I Will

I used to say I was terrible at remembering names but after reading How to Win Friends and Influence People I turned this self-doubt into a skill. In the book, Dale Carnegie says, “A person’s name is the sweetest sound to them in any language.”

From the day I read that quote, I stopped telling myself I was bad at remembering names. The results? I’m much better at names and have learned new skills to remember names and other things too.

Turning the doubt around allows your creativity, self-confidence, and the challenges of your business to take on a new light. Here’s what you can do.

Catch Yourself Being Negative – Change Your Story

Some time ago I took my daughter for a bike ride in a local park. The park has a great playset, a splash park, and a bunch of dirt trails. It’s in a hilly area with trees shading most of the trails and roots finding their way onto the trails in many areas.

This is a challenging setting for a 4-year-old on a bike. My daughter and I rode around for about 30-minutes and I heard Annaliese, more than a few times, say she couldn’t ride in a certain area or it was too hard.

She got stuck on roots and tough hills and began to doubt her abilities. Despite these doubts and fears, she refused to quit riding. Instead of talking herself out of being able to ride down hills and challenging trails, she overcame her self-doubt and chose to take on the risk of falling.

She eventually found a hill that was challenging but not too scary for her and she went up and down the hill multiple times.

This experience is such a good lesson for all of us.  As a result of her not giving in to the doubts and taking a risk, she had a great time and discovered how good of a bike rider she really is. She took some key steps that allowed her to overcome and we can too.

How To Overcome Your Self-Doubt

It’s not always easy to push through your doubts. So what do you do?

• Acknowledge the negative mantra, the inadequacy feelings, and negative talk for what they are. Self-doubt. Then…
• Risk failure (like Annaliese) so you have the chance for success. The doubt will always crush your opportunity for success.

Or

• Acknowledge the negative mantra, the inadequacy feelings, and negative talk for what they are. Self-doubt. Then…
• Break up the challenge into smaller steps to give you a higher chance of success. Sometimes the root of self-doubt is taking on too much or pushing too hard.

When you take steps like these you will learn amazing things about yourself and overcome so much.

For Annaliese, now she willingly takes on the hills and challenging trails.

What hills and challenging trails (or trials) are you facing?