At some point in our lives, the ugly head of self-doubt rears itself into our headspace, often paralyzing us with fear — fear to try something new, fear to chase our dreams, fear to change. The bright side to self-doubt, however, is that it can morph into self-belief. I would be lying if I said it were easy to experience this morphosis, but it is possible because I’ve seen it happen in my own life.
Like many people, I grew up as a carefree, fearless, confident, self-assured kid. I exuded what we call that “child spirit” of unbounded potential where I believed I could achieve and be anything I wanted in the world. However, somewhere along the road of growing up, this childlike spirit faded and was replaced with a constant state of comparison, self-judgment, jealousy, and self-doubt.
I can’t pinpoint the exact moment this seed of self-doubt was planted, but it eventually grew to the point where I couldn’t ignore it. I either had to address it or it would, without a doubt, lead me to a deep pit where my dreams, hopes, and vision for my life would slowly perish.
So, I decided to address it.
Here’s what I did to transform my self-doubt into unshakable self-belief.
Create a Resume
This doesn’t have to be a traditional resume you would submit to a potential job. Instead it’s just a visual documentation of the things you are capable of.
Whatever area of your life that self-doubt is prevalent, whether that’s your passions, career, relationships, etcetera, reflect and make a list of all the things that went well and are right in those areas.
For example, I always get a bit anxious at the start of a semester in college. Even after four years of academic achievements, I always get overwhelmed looking at the syllabi outlining all the work that is to come in that semester. So, I made a list of all the things that contradicts my self-doubt and it went something like this:
“For the past four years, you’ve excelled in challenging courses while balancing your part-time job and social life. You’ve maintained a steady streak on the Dean’s List, and you always find a way to stay on top of your responsibilities.”
See? My actions speak louder than my self-doubt in this scenario that tries to convince me that I will somehow fall behind in school.
Do this exercise in every area where you feel self-doubt, and I promise you’ll feel a shift in your perspective.
Outwork your self-doubt
If your resume isn’t looking too hot, don’t worry because you have the choice and opportunity to create a good resume. You just have to believe in yourself enough to start.
You don’t become confident by shouting affirmations in the mirror but by having a stack of undeniable proof that you are who you say you are. Outwork your self-doubt.
Chris Willams’ Podcast
The key is to start small and build habits towards the things that you’re the most doubtful of. If you’re doubtful you can’t start a business, counteract that feeling with steps such as watching a Youtube video on how to start a small business while actively writing down your ideas for a business. Or it may be that you’re doubtful that you can’t be a successful author; counteract that feeling by writing 200 words every single day.
Eventually actions add up.
Show up for yourself
Having a healthy relationship with yourself is important to combating self-doubt. In other words, self-love is key to believing in yourself.
Think about it. When friends or family that we love deeply come to us with a dream of theirs, we’re immediately jumping up and down and rooting for them. We often believe in others’ dreams and potential more than we believe in our own. Why don’t we offer that same energy to ourselves? When we have a passion or a goal, we owe it to ourselves to be our biggest supporter.
A way we can do this is to show up for ourselves every. single. day.
Commit to one small step for the next three months. Just one. One step towards a goal that you set at the beginning of 2023 and begin to build a resume and mindset that self-doubt has no chance against.
This isn’t to say I still don’t have moments where I question myself, but I am able to switch my self-talk quicker and with more effect with these steps so that self-doubt doesn’t grow bigger than it needs to.
If you found value in this post, I would love to hear your thoughts in the comment section!
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