Do you ever feel inadequate and incompetent? I know there are times when I have these feelings and I am sure you have had them too. However some people feel that way more often than other people do. There are so many people who constantly put themselves down that they fail to grow in life. They simply stop trying, they stop trying to learn and better themselves. Often it is common that they become depressed and discouraged. I’ll be honest and say we all feel like that sometimes…
It has been shown that sometimes self-doubt comes from a negative experience early in your life. For example, if people you were made fun of when you were a younger, you might doubt your abilities even today. I’ve seen this with people who return to study. They have a bad experience during school and now feel they cannot achieve.
Parents, teachers, and even friends can sometimes say things, without putting a lot of thought into what they are saying, that can have a powerful impact. You know how it is someone says something that makes you feel a bit awkward and then you start to dwell on it and think about it. Suddenly the inner critic within you starts to play with this and you begin to lose faith in your abilities.
Here are some tactics to help you erase that doubt and become more confident:
It’s time to let go of negative, critical self talk
Don’t dwell on the past and don’t let it take over your present. You have a choice – Don’t let a anyone ruin your day. It’s like a recording that goes off in your head and keeps repeating itself. Those words, or that phrase that the person uses, keeps spinning around like a record. They are the ones at fault here not you. Their negative talk says more about them then you!
- Stop your tendency to criticise yourself. By believing those who criticize you, you give them the power – you have a choice to either listen to them or ignore them.
- Don’t listen to the inner critic that tells you that something won’t work out.
- Don’t fan the flames of the voice so to speak. A fire with no air will soon be extinguished.
- Believe that you can succeed
- Avoid negative people and seek out more positive people
Be prepared and do the best you can
Thinking positively will not work alone, you must take action to succeed. Visualize yourself succeeding and see the strategies you need to make the outcome a reality. If you doubt your abilities write down a list of things you have achieved and start from there.
- Right now write out 5 things you are good at and 5 things you have achieved. Read this list everyday and show yourself how good you are.
Filling your mind with positivity is going to help you take action and succeed.
Here are some more important tips:
- Set achievable goals. Too many people set goals that are too big and lofty. They then set themselves up for failure right from the start. If you have never run a race in your life, don’t set a goal of running a marathon. Build up to run 1k, then 2, then 5, then 10
- Get active. Take action don’t sit around the house and think about things, this is a recipe for disaster.
- Remember your successes. Again think back to when you were successful. Feel what it was like to succeed. Use this feeling to push your forward.
To paraphrase a saying. “every journey of 1000 miles starts with the first small step”
As you achieve the small steps they will soon lead to greater achievements. Don’t believe this? How easy is it to put on weight by just having one “treat” a day. Soon those treats add up till you find yourself overweight. The same works with achievements. A small achievement may not seem much but over the course of time you will see its greatness.
