If You Want to Rid Yourself of Self-Doubt, Cut These Habits

Self-doubt can limit you in life. Learn to defeat it

Many people are battling self-doubt.

I see it all the time when I interact with people. Whenever I mention my little journey from corporate life to freelance photography and digital writing, the picture of self-doubt pops on their faces.

Some will tell me they can’t see themselves taking those risks; they see no path to success on those lanes.

But even beyond going gung-ho after a digital creator path, you’ll find many people displaying flashing signs of self-doubt in everyday life. I hear it when they make self-defeating comments, count themselves out, and express their immense fear of failure, etc.

Sure, some will point to past failures and the effects of such failures on present decisions. And they may have a case. Conversely, many others who may not have had similar experiences just can’t shake off their self-doubt.

They succumb to the crippling effects of self-doubt, missing out on opportunities to grow and live beneath their potential. How do you fall into this trap of self-doubt?

Like many things, you can find some habits that feed this self-doubt. Until you deal with these habits, you can’t successfully shake off your self-doubt.

Here are five such negative habits you need to subdue to get over that niggling voice in your head.

Making little excuses

Think of doing anything new, and you can find many excuses that spring to dissuade you from taking any steps toward that move.

It’s just not in me.

I don’t have money.

I don’t have the time.

The kids won’t allow me.

I can’t find the energy to do that.

People like me don’t usually do that.

I don’t see how I’ll juggle that with my life.

The list of excuses can fill a book if you take the time to outline them. But the more you nurture these excuses, the more they feed your sense of self-doubt. These excuses have been shown to limit many people in life.

And it’ll be super hard to leap over these excuses once they grab a permanent spot in your head. Over time, they become legitimate reasons, convincing you in a million ways as to why you can’t make that move.

How to overcome it

Yes, by all means, don’t play the ostrich with those valid concerns. They may be shoots of deeper issues. That’s where you need to look beyond each “excuse” to the root cause.

If you tackle it from a deeper level, you can overcome its effects. And you’ll give yourself a chance against that crippling self-doubt.

Looking up to others to make the first move

For most people, the hardest thing to do when trying something new is taking that heavy first step. That’s why some people wait for others to make that move first.

When you have the habit of waiting for someone else to take that initiative before you roar to life, you will be susceptible to self-doubt.

You won’t always find that person to make the next move. Even worse, if that move is all about you, your options on who kicks the ball in motion are limited. You can lose the battle to self-doubt.

Think about it this way: why aren’t you willing to make the first move? You probably doubt your abilities and your chances of succeeding. Don’t put yourself through that.

How to overcome it

The best first steps are the smallest.

Find the slightest first step and then the next one after that. And the next one. And the next. Before you know it, you’ve built up enough steam to scald that doubt.

Obsessing over the failures of other people

Whatever you want to do, others have probably gone ahead of you — and failed. Those numbers will scare most people, alright. But that doesn’t mean you’ll follow the same path, even if the odds are against you.

However, nurture the habit of dwelling too long on those negative results, and you’ll fertilize the seeds of doubt in your head. Before long, they grow — their roots sink deep into your mind; they bear ripe fruits that bring up more seeds.

It could be hard to break free from that. How many people are bold enough to look past the grim statistics of those who’ve gone ahead and failed at the same endeavor?

Even if you could do that, it’s considerably arduous work.

Suddenly, the innocuous act of learning all you can about what you want to do has bred unshakable self-doubt in you. You have to handle that habit better.

How to overcome that

No, you can’t ignore the reality that some people took the exact steps you intend to take and failed. But you have to learn more about why they failed.

The raw numbers may only tell part of the story. The other part could hold the key to overcoming your self-doubt and succeeding.

Also, look for the success stories. Just knowing that others have succeeded at what you’re about to do can help you question your self-doubt. Look for what they did right and how you can implement the same moves.

Painting the wrong picture of success

It’s all good to visualize all the nice things you want. But it’s just as easy to have a wrong view of what success looks like and how to get there.

Focus on that wrong view long enough, and you could start doubting yourself. It’s normal to wonder if you can get there.

Also, if that vision seems too big for you, it’s natural to question if you’ll ever make it. Look, maybe it’s within reach if you do it right. But often, with such lofty goals, it doesn’t take long for self-doubt to creep in and knock you off course.

Sometimes, all it takes is a tiny misstep to lose confidence in your ability to get there.

How to manage that

You can help yourself overcome your doubts about reaching your dreams by breaking things into phases across different timelines. As you attack that giant obstacle in stages, it’s easier to maintain a steady pace and build off the confidence from the little wins.

Looking for the easy way

Always looking for the easiest path can easily lead you to self-doubt. It’s easy to see why. If you’re unwilling to do the hard work, why’s that? Isn’t that because you’re not confident in your abilities or chances of succeeding at the tough tasks? Very likely.

Most people who look for the easiest way haven’t learned to face the challenges at the higher levels. But you’ll have to go through some difficult tasks on your way to the top.

But if you’re only going easy because you don’t believe you can do better, that’s a terrible habit you must break.

How to overcome that

No, you can’t start from the hardest part of the journey. Instead, start with the easy first steps, but learn to push yourself past those easy first steps.

Even though you’ll have to start with the fundamentals, don’t let it end there. Reach for the next level. Challenge yourself to break out of your comfortable limitations.

As you do more, you douse your self-doubt.

Many people have an iota of self-doubt as soon as they hatch plans of doing something new. With all the negativity — no, realities of success and failure, you can understand why.

But what hurts the most is allowing that doubt to force you to shelve those plans.

Those doubts don’t stand alone; they draw strength from some common habit. Rid yourself of these habits, and you’ll be on the way to overcoming your self-doubt.

Can you imagine all the wild possibilities on the other side of those doubts?

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