You Really Are A Bad A$$! Kick Out Self-Doubt aka “Imposter Syndrome” with these Tips!
You’d be surprised how many people are trying to figure out how to deal with self-doubt. Even the most self-assured of the rest of us still deal with self-doubt a lot. It’s more common than you think and comes in many shapes and sizes. For example, self-doubt is also Imposter Syndrome – they just have different names.
So, how do you deal with self-doubt? Is it something a pill can cure or are we destined to just keep talking ourselves out of it for the rest of our lives? Well, more of the latter.
Self-doubt can be triggered by a lot of different things – anxiety about starting a new project, fear of putting yourself out there, receiving compliments – the list might be endless (we don’t want to find out). But what we do know is, 99.99999% of the time, that self-doubt you feel is nothing but a lie. With these tips we will be sharing today, we’re hoping to help you see that. The more you believe that all those self-doubting thoughts flying around in your head are empty, the more you know that self-doubt is nothing but smoke & mirrors.
Here are 5 quickfire ways that show exactly how to deal with self-doubt and get the most out of your life.
Separate Fact from Fiction
When you start to feel like you’re not good enough or start to doubt your awesomeness, practice this. Think about what is currently making you doubt yourself. Once you have identified it, throw some questions at it. For example: If you’re saying to yourself: “I don’t have what it takes to start this project”. Think of all the other things you’ve accomplished – big or small. Write them down if you need to. Those seemed like you couldn’t do them, but you did. And you will do this one too!
Change Your Response to Failure
There’s a huge chance that the reason why you’re doubting yourself is that you’ve failed before. You might have failed in projects (see the example above) or something else that’s making you feel like you can’t succeed. In this case, you need to change the way you react to failure. Instead of seeing it as something you cannot come out from, look at it like a maze. You go one way, and that’s not the way, turn around and try another way. It’s not failure, it’s a chance to try again and do it better than last time.
Visualize Yourself Succeeding
Visualization is a great tool for success. It is seeing yourself achieving the goals that make you feel self-doubt. Literally – close your eyes, and allow yourself to imagine you doing the exact thing you desire. Picture yourself getting that contract. Imagine how happy you would feel, what the e-mail looks like, how you would execute it. Athletes do this all the time before a competition and it works wonders. It calms you and helps you believe you can actually do it!
Think Positively
Whenever you start to feel self-doubt, you’re most likely thinking negative thoughts. Do you know those negative thoughts are at least 7 times more powerful than positive thoughts? You actually have to say/think a positive counter to a negative thought at least 7 times to eliminate it. So how about just sticking with positive thoughts? Is it hard? Yes, it is. Humans have between 12,000 – 50,000 thoughts per day, and 80% of them are negative. But the great thing is, as you practice staying positive, you will start to see things more positively. Start today!
Make a Drastic Change
We’ve learned from Tony Robbins (one of the world’s masters of conquering fear) that making a drastic change to your physique can help combat self-doubt. You can try taking a cold shower which improves blood flow and produces more serotonin (the hormones that improve your mood) in the body. Or even standing like a superhero – hands on your hips, chest out and head high – for 2 – 5 mins. This reduces cortisol (the body’s stress hormone) significantly, improves your mood and makes you more likely to be productive.
So, you see. Dealing with self-doubt is normal, but should in no way become part & parcel of your life. You can’t win at life with that. And if you’re doubting this article, maybe this one will help kick you into gear!
Photo Credits: Photo by Darina Belonogova from Pexels |
