It's so easy to fall into a self doubt trap. We doubt our ability as parents, employees, bosses and many other things. Many of us carry that niggling feeling that we might be doing something wrong, maybe we're not cut out for this, maybe we're not smart enough to handle this job. Never giving ourselves enough credit for just being ourselves. Where did our self confidence go and we can ever get it back? Some of us have never even had the taste of self confidence and wouldn't know how to go about getting some. There are definitely ways to turn self doubt into self confidence.
Self doubt or limiting beliefs often stems from something from our past. It could have been the way we were raised or the way an ex wife or husband treated us. It might have even been carried over from elementary school if you were bullied as a child growing up. Whatever the case may be, you have plenty of self doubt and here is a small list of ways to turn that into self confidence.
1. They don't really know you.
Remember that. The people from school that bullied you or maybe your boss or coworker who don't think you are smart enough or good enough. They have no idea who you are, what's inside of you and what you are capable of. You are brilliant and extremely smart. Anything they ever said to cut you down was their perception of you and none of that matters. Their opinions, perceptions or judgement of you is simply a reflection of them. Don't forget that. You are far better than that and you already know that.
2. Remind yourself that you can handle and do anything.
We don't give ourselves enough credit for our skills and talents and we are constantly fearing failure. You won't fail. You won't ever fail at anything. Failure is never an option. You will try, you will give it your best shot and you will either succeed or learn. Either way, you win. Trying or doing anything new is scary even for the bravest and smartest person in the world, but they still do it. That's how you grow.
3. Just do it.
Whatever it is that is gnawing at you that is scaring you or holding you back from doing something, you need to face it, take a big deep breath and just go. Do it. Stepping out of our comfort zones and doing things is a very scary thing and because for so many years we have been led to believe that we can't do anything, when we finally decided we want to do something, those old voices pop up in our heads. Shut them up and go do that thing.
4. Mirror work and talk.
This one is awkward, silly but fun. Go look at yourself in the mirror and tell yourself how incredibly amazing you are and how great you are at doing anything and everything. It is up to you to convince yourself of how awesomely talented you are. You aren't here to impress anybody but yourself. Life isn't a competition. It's you against you, so you need to tell you how fantastic you are.
5. A reward awaits you.
Ah the great reward. Who doesn't want one? Remember when you finally overcome self doubt and achieve a level of self confidence you will do things you once thought you never could. The result? A great reward. A great pat on the back. A fantastic level of accomplishment unlike anything you've ever felt before. Self confidence has its own rewards and they are all centred around the self. Way to go you, you did it.
Shutting down limiting beliefs is not an easy thing to do and many of us do require the help of a professional to get over this. However, you need to do it, whatever it takes, the rewards of letting go of limiting beliefs is wonderful. You will reach a whole new level of amazing and the sky will then be the limit.