Have you ever had a troubling voice saying, “You’re not good enough,” “Your work is not worth it, “and “You’ll be ridiculed.?
Get this clear: Growing up with this mindset prevents you from reaching your full potential. It keeps you questioning your own abilities, and you don’t accept or appreciate the success you achieve, which is a building block to your ultimate pursuit in life.
This phenomenon is called self-doubt, which apparently begins with low self-esteem. Self-doubt mostly occurs due to psychological discomfort when all you think about yourself is impossibility and failure. A plethora of potentials have never seen the light of day due to self-doubt. In such instances, resources might be at an individual’s disposal, but the absence of inner fortitude to embrace the challenge or opportunity prevents them from taking a bold step.
Causes
1. Parental-induced self-doubt
Facing constant criticism from parents or siblings during childhood is a fundamental factor in self-doubt. There are times when parents tend to always find fault in their children’s actions, which plants a pessimistic mindset that they’ll never get better or nothing better will come out of them. They stick to this mindset and never have a positive reflection of themselves.
2. Comparism
We live in a challenging world where everyone is fighting for success. That makes it a norm for comparison. We meet people who are good at everything and get all the praise it comes with. You can also be doing well in your field, but you start comparing and asking, “How is she so good at all that? Look at me; I can’t get it right.“ Having this thought alone makes you discouraged, and the urge to do better dwindles because your focus is on others and not you working to get better.
3. Fear of failure
One way or the other, we all have our fears. The fear of failure is a cause for self-doubt. There’s always the urge to get things done right, and when you begin to take the step, the voice starts speaking, and you succumb to defeat. That’s when you start questioning yourself, “What if I fail?” and “What if they start laughing at me because I did bad?”. Not trying to get something done because of failure keeps you away from success.
Effects
1 Self-doubt robs you of your dreams by weakening your confidence.
2. It hinders you from reaching your goals.
3. It reduces efficiency in your work and drives you away from achieving your goals.
4. It triggers depression and anxiety because you feel you’re way behind on your goals. You keep overthinking how you’ve not been able to accomplish this task.
5. You lose all sense of motivation and feel stuck and uninspired.
6. It causes you to miss a lot of opportunities. You keep hesitating whether to grab the opportunity or not, and before you realize it, you’ve lost that chance.
7. This pattern of self-doubt causes you to become hopeless and can’t think of a better future for yourself.
How to overcome self-doubt
It all gets to a point where you want to silence that voice.
Celebrate small wins.
To overcome this, we need to learn to celebrate small wins. Ponder over how you thought you couldn’t make it, but now you did. Believe it was “you” who made that happen, appreciate that moment, and aim for something bigger.
Associate with optimistic people.
Surround yourself with supportive people. There are people who believe in us more than we believe in ourselves; keeping them close by will help overcome self-doubt. They remind you of how good you are and how you’re capable of doing that and more. They’ll encourage you to go for it when you start to doubt your abilities.
Constantly reassure yourself.
You need to find reassurance from within. We all cherish reassurance from others, but the best comes from us. You need to remind yourself you’re good enough to take this step; making a mistake doesn’t guarantee failure; you learn from that and move forward. That’s how you eradicate the voices that bring you down.
Avoid comparism
Finally, you need to avoid comparisons. One way or the other, we all have fields we’re good at. It’s better to focus on what you’re good at than compare yourself to others because it makes you feel behind and you overlook your capabilities. Focus on yourself, your strengths, and what you dream of, and work hard towards it. You’ll realize how great you are and appreciate it.
Self-doubt may come our way at times, but we need to remind ourselves that we’re capable of doing it. It may be difficult, but it all starts with believing in yourself.
Author: Salomey Barnor