Have you ever been in a position where you have faced crippling fear and anxiety about yourself? Whether it be related to your abilitiesand performance at work, school, or even personal relationships. At times, there is a nagging voice in the periphery urging us to give in to that doubt, to believe the self-loathing propaganda we produce within ourselves rather than truly taking the time to question its validity. This thought process facilitates an endless cycle of self-betrayal. Therefore, it is essential to understand the causes and triggers that lead us to feel these emotions, requiring deep work such as internal reflection and patience with oneself and understanding the tools to use when the thoughts of self-doubt become paralyzing.
Tips To Reframe
- Stop the constant comparison – Frequently, we tend to fall into this trap of comparing ourselves to the people around us. Our perception of their seemingly perfect lives is used as a tool to diminish our achievements, and practicing this behavior is a recipe for disaster and pain. Therefore, it is essential to zoom out of our perceptions about others and ourselves and objectively weigh our assumptions to see how much is rooted in fact or a perceived reality that we have customized.
- Acknowledge previous accomplishments – It is essential to give ourselves credit where credit is due and not gloss over the many hurdles that we have pushed through. By acknowledging how far we have come, we permit ourselves to breathe.
- Practice self-compassion – We tend to amplify our self-critical voices rather than permit ourselves to practice empathy and compassion by mitigating our accomplishments and constantly putting ourselves down for our failures. Therefore, we need to allow ourselves to accept kindness and not belittlement to flourish.
- Accept and come to terms with your failures – One of the most common experiences within the human race is failure. Despite that, it is the one topic that is stigmatized. We must allow ourselves the opportunity to make mistakes rather than avoid them. Self-doubt primarily comes from an overwhelming fear of committing an error. However, through our failures, we enrich our lives and possess a more meaningful human experience from which we can continue to grow and flourish. Therefore, the only way is through loss rather than avoiding it.