Nobody enjoys experiencing feelings of insecurity and self-doubt, but unfortunately for many people these are all too common states of mind, and can end up having a massively negative impact on the overall sense of well-being of those individuals. At the same time, insecurity and self-doubt can undermine the capacity to maximize and express potential, and to live life in the most rewarding and uplifting manner.
Self-doubt and insecurity can, in short, be devastating – and managing to come up with effective techniques for pushing against these states of mind can unlock all sorts of new avenues of potential in life, while leading to significantly improved mood, and a better and more optimistic and empowered outlook on life as well.
Here are a number of different tips for pushing back against insecurity and self-doubt, and moving more towards living the life of your dreams.
Train yourself into the habit of getting up and getting going, instead of listening to your own negative thoughts
One area where a lot of people end up getting themselves into trouble, is by trying to battle against their limiting beliefs and insecurities, purely within the confines of their own minds.
Often, this will manifest itself in the form of sitting around indefinitely, trying to properly calculate the right solution to a given problem, or looking for ways to become motivated to get started on a particular course of action.
The mind is tricky, though, and if you allow your self-limiting thoughts and beliefs to gain the upper hand, and if you engage with them too much, you may well end up in a position where you find it just about impossible to actually take action, and so end up in a state of severe inertia instead.
The more you can train yourself to simply “get up and get going,” instead of becoming overly captivated by your own negative thoughts, the more consistently you will begin to redefine your sense of your own possibilities, and the more you loosen the grip of those negative thoughts on your life.
In both small ways and loads of ways, look for opportunities to just move forward and take action, as opposed to allow yourself to end up in a state of passive inertia.
This could mean anything from applying to a new job, to going out to a social event that makes you nervous, to beginning a fitness routine.
Regularly put yourself in situations that involve trying new things and stepping out of your comfort zone
For the most part, we all tend to be creatures of habit, and one consequence of this fact is that we frequently end up getting caught in the same behavior loops – and so end up in the same spirals of thought and emotion – day in and day out.
If you’re trying to push back against self-doubt and insecurities, though, staying within your “comfort zone,” and doing the same thing over and over, clearly isn’t a winning strategy.
Instead, one of the best things you can do to regain a sense of control, direction, and positivity in your life, is to regularly put yourself in situations that involve trying out new things and stepping out of your comfort zone.
The more you confront situations that make you feel nervous, and that you find daunting, the more you’ll begin to redefine your sense of what’s possible.
It may be that you’ve had a hang up for a long time that you were just not a naturally “athletic person,” and so you’ve always avoided the gym or any fitness classes, based on the belief that you just wouldn’t be able to do it, or that it’d be too much of a daunting situation to properly contend with.
By actually stepping out of that frame of reference and signing up for a fitness class, or going to the gym, though, you will begin facing the fear and redefining your basic sense of self.
Although your initial experience maybe won’t be pleasant (or maybe it will), by sticking with it, you will tend to find you become more more capable, and more and more confident as well.
Engage in physically active pastimes that get your heart rate up
Regularly engaging in physically active pastimes that get your heart rate up, can end up being one of the best ways of challenging your perceived limitations, and helping to give you a renewed sense of confidence, energy, and optimism.
According to the psychologist Kelly McGonigal, physical exertion naturally causes the muscles to release certain molecules that help to increase feelings of hope, resilience, and positivity – and these molecules are not limited merely to endorphins.
At the same time, physically active and strenuous pastimes typically have the effect of directing your attention outside of your own head and your own thought patterns, and into your body and surroundings.
If you’ve been feeling very stressed, or if you feel as though a particular hang up is really limiting your potential in life, going for a jog, lifting some weights, or doing a yoga routine might be just the thing to help to take you out of that headspace and to begin adjusting your sense of perspective and giving you a much-needed confidence boost.
Of course, it also doesn’t hurt that the fitter you become, and the better shape you end up in, the greater the likelihood is that you will feel more confident about your appearance, capabilities, and more.
Level up your style and personal presentation
Although the way you look certainly doesn’t have anything to do with your inner values, or whether or not you are living life in an upstanding and positive manner, taking steps to level up your style and personal presentation can serve as a significant confidence booster, and can help you to experience a significantly greater degree of well-being, and an enhanced sense of personal agency, too.
Whether you want to buy beautiful ankle bracelets from Allurez.com, or a well-fitted suit that you’ve had your eye on for a while, taking your personal style and presentation more seriously, and “spoiling yourself” a bit in that sense, can be a powerful way of exercising a bit of “self-care.”
Often, when we end up experiencing a diminished sense of confidence and self-esteem, we will engage in behaviors that keep us trapped in that mental framework, and that consistently undermine our sense of our own worth and our potential going forward.
Taking some pride in your appearance is just one way of pushing back against this, and forcing yourself to step out of that narrow and restrictive frame of reference. Instead of feeling the same sense of negativity, there’s a good chance that you will begin feeling more confident – or at least, more like you’re worth investing in and caring for – when you actively take pride in your presentation.
Take on personal projects and hobbies that allow for consistent improvement over time
A major part of boosting your sense of confidence, is to experience improvements and a sense of development over the course of your day-to-day life, which remind you that you are capable of becoming better at whatever it is you do.
For this reason, having certain hobbies or projects that you regularly engage in and spend time with on a daily basis, and that give you the opportunity to improve your skills and to become more advanced, can work wonders when it comes to helping to boost your confidence.
There are many stories out there of individuals whose sense of confidence and self-esteem and end up improving dramatically as a result of “finding their passion,” whether in the sense of developing great enthusiasm for cross-country running, or whether in terms of becoming a committed artist or entrepreneur, or any number of other things.
Listen to songs and forms of media that cause you to feel more energized and upbeat
Although it may seem like a somewhat minor point, the kind of media you expose yourself to on a regular basis can have a major impact on how you feel moment by moment and can certainly influence your sense of confidence, positivity, and self-esteem.
If, for example, all the music you listen to is melancholy and is about loss, defeat, and heartbreak, it’s probably not going to help to put you in a more upbeat and empowered mindset.
On the other hand, having an energetic and uplifting playlist that you can listen to when you’re feeling down – ideally while moving around – may really help to give you the boost that you need in the moment, in order to get active.
When it comes to things like the kind of information you habitually consume, this point can be even more dramatic – because if you always listen to the opinions and narratives of people who are defeatist and have a fatalistic view on life, that’s the kind of perspective and energy that you’re going to be consistently reinforcing in your own life, as opposed to anything that helps to make you more confident, or that helps you to feel more empowered.
Focusing on adding more positive and uplifting forms of media to your life, and reducing the negative, may be a real help.
What other tips can you give for pushing back against self-doubt and insecurities? Let me know in the comments below!
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