Self-doubt is something we all experience in life. Here are some things to remember when you find yourself wallowing in doubt.
1. Your failures and mistakes do not define you.
It is your potential, your will, and your actions to reach your potential that define you. If you try to measure yourself, or worse, to identify yourself with what you think were mistakes and failures, you will inevitably end up doubting your worth and your abilities. Know that mistakes and failures are valuable lessons in life which do not define who you are in any way. It is how you deal with them and learn from them have something to say about who you are.
2. When in a moment of doubt, look for a moment of clarity.
We all have moments in life when we seriously doubt ourselves. These moments can be short or long, but they are always moments in time that will pass if we open up to see beyond the moment. When in self-doubt, what we should be looking for is the exact opposite: a moment of clarity where we see all of our life issues, doubts, and fears from a wider angle and unchained from the particular time we are experiencing. In short, a “moment of clarity” should really be called “clarity beyond the moment.”
3. Self-doubt always comes from fear, insecurity, and inner disconnection.
Evaluating your strengths and weaknesses is a healthy part of inner self re-assessment. However, self-doubt is always an illusion. Why? Because it comes from fear and from being disconnected from your true inner self. Self-doubt is only a projection of your fears which can be dissolved by reconnecting to the intuitions of the heart rather than being trapped in thoughts and minds.
4. The strongest remedy for self-doubt is self-love.
By far, the strongest, fastest vanquisher of self-doubt is self-love. Remembering to be gentle, kind, and loving towards yourself will dissolve and melt the harsh self-criticism which inevitably leads to self-doubt. Don’t be hard on yourself — there is never any good reason to be so. Loving oneself is not narcissistic — it is the basis for opening oneself up to life and others without falling into the limiting machinations of the mind.
5. You are not isolated.
One of the main effects of self-doubt is isolation. When we doubt our worth or value, it is because we first isolate ourself from the whole complete picture of our life. We isolate ourself from others and from ourself, from our beauty, successes, strengths, inner truths, and our real value and true authenticity. In fact, self-doubt is very selective — the ego mischievously focuses and highlights only the faults and fears in isolation without connecting them to all the positive truths about yourself. So when in doubt, remember you are never isolated but connected to a larger whole and a larger set of experiences that shape you.
6. You don’t need confirmation or approval from others.
When we doubt ourself, we lose our points of reference. In that moment of weakness, we look even more for others’ approval and confirmation — which makes us even weaker and subject to more doubt.
Others have no say or authority over who you are and your true value. Only you do. The confirmation that you are a free, powerful, and beautiful being should come from your inner conviction — from your heart and not from anywhere else.
7. Listen to your heart.
This is where real strength, power, and wisdom comes from. Doubt comes when we are tumbled into the battle between mind and heart and this mostly happens when we mute our heart or we lose touch with it. Reconnecting and listening to your heart is not an action you need to learn to do. It’s about silence, surrender, and trust. In short, sitting quietly and allowing. Meditation, reflection, contemplation, and spiritual retreats are all proven and tested paths for quietening the mind and deepening into the heart.
Featured photo credit: Kyle Broad via images.unsplash.com
