Last updated on August 16th, 2019
Your mind is always trying to protect you from harm. Whether it be an actual physical danger, or the shame of failure, that big ball of tissue and neurons has your back. In most cases, this is a good thing. Without it, you would be eliminated from the gene pool to make way for a stronger species.
Our minds want us to be the strongest member and carry our traits forward through the history of humankind, but sometimes it can get in our way. We doubt ourselves and when we embrace that doubt, we hold ourselves back.
“I’m not good enough.”
“People won’t care about what I am doing.”
“What if I get negative feedback? Won’t that look really bad?”
Many of us have these thoughts. Some have learned to overcome these feelings of self-doubt and remove the anxiety that comes along with low self-esteem. For others, it is the reason they fail or never get ahead.
Overcoming Self-Doubt: the Science
I am not an expert on how to overcome these feelings, but I am well-versed in having these feelings. Before I can move forward with the plan, I have to create a plan to conquer my fears and tell my brain to shut up once in a while.
Try this: search the internet for “Science of Self-Doubt.” There are tons of resources out there to help you understand and take action against the gremlins devouring your confidence.
There was an article in Inc. that hit home for me. As I read the piece, I realized “I usually have increased stress and anxiety when I let this consume me.”
No one is really staring at you
Chad Perry (@chadperry) wrote in Science Says Stop Doing This to Eliminate Self-Doubt that people pay much less attention to you than you really think and that people are much more concerned with what is actually happening to them that what you are doing or saying.
Perry gives a great example of a conference in which his team choose a wardrobe to try to stand out, but also handed $1 bills to those in attendance. While this may not have been the most scientific study, one of the conference attendees stated that they were trying to find the group because they were handing out money, not for their attire.
When I read this and the other example he gave, It immediately clicked – “I’ve been doing this my entire life. I’ve been so absorbed in what other people might be thinking, I am just treading water and not trying to swim to shore.”
So, how do I change my mindset from “There all gonna laugh at you!” to “You can do this!” I have to believe I can. I know that the things I want to do are things I can do. Science, once again, comes flying in to give me proof that I can build confidence, just by believing my abilities are malleable and can improve.
Have a fluid view of yourself
An article posted on Mission.org by Tyler Tervooren (@tylertervooren) titled Overcome Crippling Self-Doubt The Einstein Way cites a study done of high school students focused on their performance and the connection with their beliefs on whether their intelligence was fixed or flexible. Out of over 600 students that participated, students believing their own intelligence could change, performed better than those who believed their own intelligence could not be changed.
While this is great news, Tervooren also talks about how you can’t just talk yourself out of doubt. In fact, we are bad at this.
He suggests that taking action to change your frame of thought is more effective than changing the way you act. Along with this, we should focus on past success to just remind us that we are capable when we lack confidence or motivation. We should celebrate the small victories and progress completing the small tasks that brought us closer to our goal.
Improving your mindset is improving yourself
It is never easy to change your frame of mind, especially if it is the way you have thought all your life, but It is something I will need to remember as I move forward. These two mentions are mere grains of sand on a beach of information regarding self-doubt.
If you are like me and need to know why you feel this way, I suggest you hit your favorite search engine and start reading. I read for 20 minutes and have a much better understanding of “why?” Of course, the next step is figuring out how I use this knowledge and rise above this challenge. And that is part of the journey.
You will read many topics where I reference money. Since we’re getting philosophical about my hustle, money is the surface goal. The instant gratification part of why I’m doing this, but really, in a capitalistic society, more money can mean improvement.
If you think about it, improvement is really the goal. I’ll be doing tasks to make money, but I will also be learning, refining, putting theory to practice, ultimately becoming more well-rounded and a better me.
And I want you to buy T-Shirts.