5 Ways to Overcome Self-Doubt

Even the toughest people, who occupy decision-making positions and rely on their confidence on daily basis, sometimes feel the pressure of self-doubt, lack of confidence and hesitation. Doubting yourself in specific situations is very natural feeling to experience, especially in entrepreneurship, but if you let self-doubt to become a constant part of your life, it can be very harmful for your company. Overcoming self-doubt and gaining the confidence you need is not as simple as it sounds. It requires time, but with the right mindset you will be able to become more confident in your decisions.

"The worst enemy to creativity is self-doubt.” Sylvia Plath

Here you will find five mindsets that will help you become self-confident, that will help you stop second-guessing all of your decisions and will teach you how to avoid self-doubt.

Accept that you are not immune to making mistakes. Once you accept this fact, you will be able to concentrate more on the creative process than on the countless if’s and but’s that keep popping up in your head. If you are afraid to try something new just because you don’t want to make a mistake, then you will never manage to create something unique that makes a difference in the world.

Don’t compare yourself to others. Remember that there will always be people who have achieved more than you have, but you can’t (and don’t have to) compare your achievements to theirs. Every entrepreneur writes their own story and you should be concentrating on your business more than on the business of others. Well, keep an eye on the competition, but follow your unique path. In order to gain the confidence that you need and to stop doubting every decision that you take, you must understand that your business is unique and that you are unique as well.

Be realistic. Try not to idealize other people and other companies and not to overestimate or underestimate your personal achievements. Looking at every situation just from one angle can be very harmful for your business. There are always two sides of the same coin. Choosing to look at every situation in only a positive or only in a negative way is not the most successful approach that you can embrace. Stay realistic in your thoughts and you will save lots of headaches to yourself.

"What is the worst that can happen?"  This is one of the most important questions, which all people, who lacks confidence, can ask themselves in a moments of self-doubt. The worst that can happen is to live a life of regret, to feel sorry for the chances you have missed just because you were doubting yourself. Trust your intuition, your personal judgement and knowledge and do your best - the rest doesn’t depend on you. You should not be allowing the things that you can’t control to prevent you from doing the things that you believe should be done.

Remember your previous success. Try to concentrate on all your achievements and remind yourself how far you have come till now. Your path might be full of obstacles but these obstacles are just making you stronger. Remind yourself of the things you have achieved, of the right decisions that you have made and of everything else that makes you feel proud of yourself. You have come this far by taking the right decisions, why you should doubt your ability to take a right decision once again?