4 Secrets To Banish Self-Doubt

Chances are you believe in others more than you believe in yourself. You're probably the first to encourage a friend to keep going because they have what it takes. But when it comes to encouraging yourself, it's easy to shy away due to self-doubt.

It's not fair to cheat yourself out of opportunities. Having low self-confidence can cause you to lose out on awesome experiences. And you certainly don't want that, do you?

Now is a great time to start focusing on yourself and work on boosting your confidence. And it's surprisingly easy to do.

Follow these steps to boost your confidence and start believing in yourself:

1. Avoid hesitation. Self-doubt is often developed out of hesitation. Do you take a long time to act on an impulse? If you see an opportunity, does it take you a while to go after it? The longer you take to pursue something, the more reasons you'll find for justifying your unsuitability for the opportunity.

* Avoid "sleeping on it" if you can decide right away. For a self-doubter, delaying a response usually means losing the confidence to go after the opportunity.

* Do you think you're not ideal for a new role you've been offered at work? Forget about that for a minute. Focus on the fact that you were actually offered the job for a reason!

2. Challenge negative thinking. It's easy to diminish self-confidence by harboring negative thoughts. But before you accept negative thoughts about yourself as a reality, challenge the thinking.

* Instead of accepting you're not good enough, take a moment to think about the facts. Have there been instances which support your negative thinking? Even if the answer is yes, remind yourself of your many positive experiences as well.

* Beware of thought patterns that can eat away at your self-esteem. Avoid looking at life as "black or white" and live in the grey area sometimes. You may not have one trait or another, but you have the perfect combination of what you need for YOUR life!

* Always be sure to differentiate between feelings and facts. Just because something makes you feel a particular way doesn't mean there's any fact in it.

3. Be kind to yourself. If you are someone who rarely displays self-confidence, you probably give yourself a hard time and consider yourself inadequate or ill-equipped. But when was the last time you were actually kind to yourself?

* Spend some time each day highlighting your positive traits. Remind yourself what makes you beautiful inside and out.

* Celebrate the small successes to help remind yourself that you're actually more amazing than you give yourself credit for.

* Try spending some time with positive people. Their energy rubs off quite easily!

4. Learn to listen to and accept compliments. Most of the time when people say nice things about you, they mean it! Take the time to really hear what positive things are being said about you. Absorb the thought and believe them!

* If someone says you're beautiful, believe them!

* Spend some time listening to the kind things said by others. And remember to say thanks each time. It helps to cement the positive thoughts in your mind.

During the next 30 days, be patient with yourself. Consider each of these tips on a daily basis. Gradually, as with anything else, practicing self-confidence becomes second nature.

In no time, you'll see the world is in the palm of your hand. And you'll hear every opportunity calling your name. Aren't you excited for that time?


Stephanie Mulac is an Intuitive Life Coach, Speaker and Author. Subscribe to her self-development newsletter at Infinite Evolution Center.

Taking Action Is The Only Way To Attain Your Dreams

Many people live their whole lives with fabulous and yet unfulfilled dreams. This is because dreams are little more than whimsy until focused and determined action is applied. Taking action is how you make fantasy into reality and achieve your wildest imaginings.

There are a good number of reasons to delay or deny yourself action. Some individuals find that they are always waiting for a better time, more money or a phenomenal opportunity. In reality however, most of these same are actually afraid to take the dreaded first step. This is because most advances towards success require a willingness to risk failure. Many people certainly have their reasons for delaying or denying actions. Most people will tell you that they are waiting for a better opportunity, more time, more money, or some other thing that is always just over the horizon. The truth however, is that most people are actually afraid to take action. They know that each time they do they risk failure.

Because of this, it is rarely ever external circumstances that keep people from moving forward. It is usually internal fear instead that keeps people motionless when the should be up and running. Self-doubt and fear is what often keeps people living mediocre and mundane lives when they instead could be taking the bull by the horns, so to speak.

Courage is the beginning of taking action. It is about recognizing that there is a possibility of failure and yet moving forward anyway. Great acts of courage are rarely, if ever, totally absent of fear. When you are ready to start aggressively walking the path of your life you must accept that there will be times of great terror in which you must keep pushing forward in spite of the negative emotions that attempt to thwart your progress.

Inactivity can actually be a huge source of depression and other damaging emotions. It is an unnatural way of living life, especially when you must watch dreams die away and opportunities dissolve. Choosing to take action often helps to restore positive thinking and a healthy and vibrant emotional state. Your body and mind are most happy and alive when you are putting them up for overcoming challenges.

One of the best ways to end a spell of stagnant living is to take stock of the underlying issues of your dormancy. It is important to ask yourself why you have been inactive in certain areas. By clearly outlining your fears you can begin to address and conquer them. You will find that in areas where you may not have advanced before because it seemed inopportune, you were instead simply afraid of risking failure.

It is also important to take a good look at the people that you surround yourself with. If you are constantly in the company of negative individuals that do not take action on their own dreams, it is likely that you will listen to a lot of discouraging and negative speak. When you are around this type of energy for extended periods of time you are far less likely to respond to life's challenges in a positive key.

When you choose to confront your fear and get rid of unnecessary negative feedback from those around you, you can keep a positive, proactive mindset. Taking action is sure to give you the results that you have been seeking but not getting while laying around and waiting for something to happen. When you put your hand to the task of structuring your life, you can steer valiantly towards the future of your very dreams.