At some point in your life you’ve had your doubts. Doubts about whether or not something you heard was actually true, that you would get the response you were looking for from someone, or you simply doubted yourself.

Self-doubt and self sabotage are now being comfortably discussed on online spaces and I believe it’s a positive thing for our society. With generations now completely growing up in the age of social media, it’s great that something that’s real and relatable to us all can openly talked about.

What is self-doubt?

Some may be more aware of the feeling than the actual meaning itself.

According to Google, self-doubt means lack of confidence in oneself and one’s abilities.

So not only does this mean that a person who deals with self-doubt isn’t comfortable with themselves, they also don’t have faith in what they are putting their energy into.

I’m sure many us can relate to having these types of moments with ourselves. Maybe even longer than moments. Either way, you can’t allow that type of mindset to grow and spread into your spirit.

How does one overcome self-doubt?

The first thing that needs to be done regardless if you doubt yourself or not is to make sure you love yourself. You have to love yourself everyday, through everything that you go through. Self-love should be apart of your lifestyle. Loving yourself directly affects your confidence and the inward and outward energy that you display.

Although I advocate for self-love purposefully, it’s not the solution to all problems.

Along with loving yourself I believe it’s important that you identify the source of your self-doubt.

What has caused you to not believe in your own abilities?

There are various reasons why people start to have self-doubt. These thoughts can stem from a dysfunctional childhood, academic struggles, different forms of abuse, and even making comparisons to others.

It’s important to figure out when and why your self-doubt started so that you can determine how you’re going to work through it. This might take a bit of unlearning and adapting new thought patterns.

Also at any point in your journey when you feel like you can’t handle what you’re going through you should seek out help from others or a professional.

Some self-doubt can be deep rooted and embedded into the psyche. Sometimes when you’re too close to something you can’t see it. People can end of becoming victims of their own negative thoughts. Going to see a mental health professional or turning to your support system when you are feeling overwhelmed with self-doubt and negative thoughts can lead you to steps in the right direction.

Related: What to Look for in A Support System

Another necessary way to overcome self-doubt is to filter out your life. What I mean by this is simple and a challenge at the same time. You need to stop surrounding yourself with anything that makes you feel low. You know what makes you feel good and what doesn’t. This can be a challenge because what might feel good to you could be something that is harming you.

Many people should filter out social media. Go through your social media accounts and analyze who you follow and why. This is an exercise that I did not too long ago and it felt great. I would constantly see content on my feed that I had no connection with, which was frustrating. I would find myself quickly scrolling past certain people’s posts that I followed because it didn’t resonate with who I was becoming. I stopped ignoring the posts and decided to just delete the pages that serve no purpose to who I am at this point in my life.

If you try this out let us know how it goes. I believe this type of mindful exercise can be a way of practicing self-care.

Taking a social media break can be good for self-doubt.

Just taking the time to not be influenced and swayed into believing that you’re not worthy will be beneficial if you struggle with self-doubt. You can become so lost in your thoughts when you are constantly being bombarded by what other people are displaying. If you lack confidence you’re only hurting yourself when you spend unnecessary time scrolling.

Once you pull yourself from social media you have more time to focus on living your own life and evolving.

When you find yourself faced with self-doubt the last thing you need is an opening to allow yourself to start comparing your journey to someone else’s.

Reading self-help, self-improvement or any type of self development books can help you to overcome self-doubt.

Even if you’re not an avid reader, there is so much that you can learn and grow from by reading. Here you have life-changing knowledge at the your fingertips and available at any time of need.

I know it can be hard to sit down and make time to read with a busy day to day life but start small. Sometimes just opening up a book to a random page and reading that page only can be enlightening.

Think about a moment when you were proud of yourself or a time when you felt whole. Taking the time to remember a moment when you were proud of yourself can diminish the start of a self-doubting moment.

When you find yourself doubting your abilities you need to remind yourself that you are better than that. No, everyday isn’t going to be great or your most productive, but that doesn’t mean that greatness isn’t within you.

Creating affirmations and writing encouraging notes to yourself will improve self-doubt.

It sounds simple enough but writing positive things to and about yourself can aid in your attempts to believe in yourself more. Journaling is a great way to practice this. Just sit and create your own customized affirmations that will keep you going when you start to feel doubtful. A journal is an outlet that can be used in so many ways. The great thing about it is that it will always be there for you to come back to.

Self-doubt is a human experience, but that will not stop you from achieving. There are many things that we must learn and acquire in order to grow through life so don’t let any lack of confidence deter you on your journey. We all have areas that we are trying to improve and there should be no shame in something that is a universal struggle for many.

When in doubt remember to love yourself, take a break and know that you possess greatness to overcome your self-doubt.