“Self-doubt is a trap into which many brilliant people fall, trap from which many never recover. Not realizing that just as Robert Hughes said it so beautifully, “The greater the artist, the greater the doubt. Perfect confidence is granted to the less talented as a consolation prize.” ~ Luminita D. Saviuc

The Trap of Self-Doubt

If you’ve ever been faced with feelings of self-doubt and insecurity, know that you are not alone.

In a world that tries so hard to make you into something you are not, more and more people are beginning to doubt themselves, thinking and believing that there is something wrong with them – for not being as the world wants them to be – when in fact there is absolutely nothing wrong with them, but rather with the world in which we live in and the many unhealthy expectations it places upon all of us.

“Our doubts are traitors, And make us lose the good we oft might win, By fearing to attempt.” ~ William Shakespeare

Whatever the reason for your self-doubt may be, know that you are not alone and that there are simple things you can do to overcome your self-doubt and live life with more courage and confidence.

7 Easy Things You Can Do to Overcome Self-doubt

1. Just Stop

Whenever you feel yourself slipping into the trap of doubting and feeling sorry for yourself, stop!

Stop everything you are doing – no matter how impossible it may seem – and just breathe.

2. Come back to your Self

For a few minutes, allow yourself to close your eyes to the world around you – to everything and everyone that is causing you to panic and doubt yourself – and bring all your attention back to your True Self. 

3. Practice heart focus breathing

With your eyes closed and your hands placed gently over your chest, breathe slowly and deeply. Imagine your breath flowing in and out through this sacred center, called your heart calming you down and bringing all parts of you back to a state of coherence, inner harmony, peace and safety. 

4. Love yourself back into wholeness

Place your arms around yourself and whisper these words to yourself: 

I love you. 

I am here for you. You are safe. 

Pay no attention to these harmful thoughts for they are not real and they cannot hurt you. 

Fear not. I am here for you. I love you and I will alway protect you. 

5. Find the truth

From this space of inner peace and safety, look deep within and see if you can identify that one thing you know with utmost certainty to be true about you – about your real value and true worth.

Now that the clouds of self-doubt have drifted away and the sun of self-confidence is shining again, see if you can identify that one thing you know without a shadow of a doubt, to be the truth about your real value and true worth.

6. Affirm the truth to yourself

Now that you have found the truth, tell it to yourself. Tell it silently. Tell it out loud. Tell it while looking at yourself in the mirror. Tell it as often as possible until all your self-doubt is erased by the truth of your:

I am worthy, I am valuable, I am enough! And nothing I ever say or do can change that.

Always remember that the truth of you – your real value and true worth – does not come from how things look externally – from what you do or don’t do, but from who you are internally. Because just as it was so beautifully spoken in the sacred texts,

“A pearl thrown into the mud does not lose its value, and anointing it with oil will not increase its value; in the eyes of its owner, its value remains unchanged. So is with the sons of God; wherever they are, they are just as precious to their Father.” ~ The Gospel of Philip, Jean Yves Leloup Translation

7. Be kind and gentle with yourself

No matter how many times you get caught up in the sticky energies of self-doubt and insecurity, do not let yourself linger by putting yourself down and by judging yourself harshly for being human and for feeling the way you do.

Just tell yourself:

I have fallen down in the mud again again. But that’s okay. For just as a pearl thrown into the mud does not lose its value, and anointing it with oil will not increase its value; in the eyes of its owner, its value remains unchanged. So is with my real value and true worth. My value is always the same.

Your value is always the same. And if you can remember this – even when you’re being thrown in the mud and self-doubt takes over you- you will be okay.

Stay true to your Self and do your best to get back up after each fall with a little more grace, self-compassion and self-love, remembering that you are not alone on this journey. You never were and never will be.

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