What is Self Doubt?

Self doubt means not feeling secure in yourself and your abilities. Any time that you are being assessed in court or for custody, this will trip you up.  It will prevent you from asking for a raise or starting a new diet. It will make you throw in the towel at the first sign of failure on your new business endeavour. Self doubt is never your friend, and it is completely optional once you understand that you are creating it with your thoughts.

Why do you have Self Doubt?

Self doubt is a feeling, and like all feelings, it is generated by your thoughts. Your brain is really good at coming up with thoughts that sound pretty convincing, but that doesn’t mean that you should believe these thoughts.  Thoughts like:

• I’m not sure I can handle this.
• I will try to get it done (but I’m not sure that I will)
• I am so not good at that
• failure is a sign of weakness
• the less risk, the better
• I don’t know how

You feel self doubt when you don’t trust your ability to manage a situation. When you are afraid of feeling negative emotions like failure or rejection, you will be too scared to risk trying. You will create negative emotions like self doubt if you have a low opinion of yourself.

The Antidote to Self Doubt

The antidote to self doubt is self confidence. Do you think self confidence is an inherent super-power? Newsflash – it isn’t. You are not born with self confidence. You earn it by keeping your word to yourself,  believing that you can experience any emotion, and by unleveling your opinion of yourself.

Self confidence is just a feeling (like self doubt) and it too is created by your thoughts. Thoughts like:

• fear is no big deal – just an emotion
• I have my own back
• I was made for this
• My failures earn my successes
• l can earn by doing
• I don’t need to live in fear of the haters

Stop Creating Self Doubt

To stop creating self doubt, you need to create and believe new thoughts about yourself. Specifically, thoughts that generate self confidence. This takes repetition and practice. Believing new things is awkward, kind of like going from granny briefs to thong underwear.

Your thoughts about yourself will generate or deplete self confidence.  A self doubting person thinks they are not capable or strong enough to handle anything. A self confident person thinks they are competent and worthy. Neither statement is factual. All are just thoughts. And those thoughts are available to you.