When I first type “Self-Doubt” into google, the first two articles that come up are that of how to overcome self-doubt. I wasn’t surprised by these results because the original title of this article was exactly the same as that of these articles. Self-doubt has many different definitions but the key definition as per google is “A lack of of confidence regarding yourself and your abilities.”

I experience self-doubt from time to time as well, so I know that everyone has these moments. However, we shouldn’t look at self-doubt as something that we need to overcome. Instead, the question we should be asking ourselves is: How can I try to work with my own self-doubt to create the best possible outcome for myself? Fear not! In this blog post I will be walking you through the three ways in which you can make your self-doubt work for you!

1- View Self-Doubt as an external voice/person – Trust me, I know that the negative voice in our heads sometimes outweigh all of the positive work that we have been doing to change our mindset. When you identify with the negative voice, you then become stuck in this negative mindset and you start believing the voice. So, how can you change your approach? What if you were to view this internal critique as an external critique instead? Think about how many times you have stood up for yourself when someone has doubted your talent, skills, and abilities. Take the same bold stand against your inner critique. Why do we let our inner critique always win? It is time for a change, and this change starts with you!

2- Action, Action, Action – There are plenty of reasons that self-doubt exists within you. For example, failure is often times the reason people begin to doubt themselves. When you don’t see enough wins you also start to doubt yourself. So, what is the best way to take a stand for yourself when self-doubt is knocking on the door? Take action! Stop sitting around and working on writing your 3 year goals or 5 year goals (although this process is very important, you don’t want to just get stuck in continuous writing and no action). Take one action towards your goals every day no matter what. Each day that you take action and put one foot forward, you are proving to your own self-doubt that what it tells you daily is not true. You are more than capable of achieving everything that you have ever wanted to.

3- Look at your self-doubt through a positive lens – Not all self-doubt is negative. The root of self-doubt is also partially fear. When you are setting uncomfortable goals for yourself, your mind will naturally view this as something out of your comfort zone. When we go out of our comfort zone the self-doubt is at its peak because we are ultimately creating new experiences. Self-doubt sometimes try to protect us from possibly failing. So, when you see the self-doubt creeping in, don’t become one with it. Recognize and acknowledge that your self-doubt is creeping in to ultimately protect you from failure. Just don’t become one with your self-doubt because that is what causes you to stop taking action and to become stagnant in life.

Self-doubt is very common, and you would be surprised to hear that many successful people at one point or another have doubted themselves and their path to success. There is nothing wrong with the concept of self-doubt as long as you don’t let it control your path to success. If you change your perspective towards self-doubt, you are more likely to increase your own wins in life. Have a great day!