Self-doubt is a killer, it’s the little shoulder devil that likes to put you in a hole and keep you there to himself (I’ve named mine Braxton, and I tell him to eff off). It’s totally debilitating and can stop us in our tracks. It’s also something we can control and throw our middle finger up at, because it’s all negative talk that we tell ourselves, and not the truth. I definitely suffer from self-doubt because I’m human, but I know some very handy tricks and tips to stop you from feeling this way when it just gets too much. It usually shows up because we’re neglecting ourselves in some way, we either haven’t slept well, eaten right or fed our brain with good stuff. Something is just off kilter and we need to get back on track.
First things first, stand up and move away from whatever it is you’re doing. Shift your focus to something else and it’ll help shake up those destructive thoughts. Pick one of the following things to start with (I encourage doing them all but you’re only one person):
- Have a nap
- Eat some ice-cream (or some other yummy food if you’re lactose intolerant)
- Help someone else
- Workout (or do yoga)
- Say nice things to yourself, just like you were telling someone else
- Write down all your achievements
- Think back to a week, month, year ago and remember all the AMAZING things you’ve done
I know you’ll be feeling a little better after you’ve done at least one of those things. After you’ve done all of those things you’ll be feeling a shift and can give that self-doubt a smug smile. I definitely recommend keeping a log of all the great things people have said about you, or all the great things you’ve done so that when this self-doubt starts creeping in, you can remind yourself of your amazingness. Because you are amazing, this world is better with you in it and you have so much to offer.
P.S. it really helps to name your self-doubt, shoulder devil, negative voice. Create a silly image of it (mine is a bat, although I really love bats, it’s the first things that came to my head when I first did this). It creates this unknown feeling into something that can be seen and controlled, and you can tell it to go away whenever it pops up.