Doubting yourself now and then is actually normal

What do you think of when you hear the word confidence? Many people answer that someone who is confident never doubts him- or herself. However, that image is not correct, quite the contrary.

Self-confidence is, quite simply put, confidence in your own abilities. It is the belief that you are able to deal with the challenges you encounter and also the will to actually take them on. For this it is important that you know what you can and cannot do.

However, self-confidence is not a constant. There will always be situations where you feel less confident than at other times. This has to do with certain protection mechanisms that we as humans have. As soon as we start doing something new, it comes into effect. It's that little voice that tells you that you shouldn't do certain things, because you won't be able to. And aren't others better at it anyway?

This kind of self-doubt has a function. It protects you from things like rejection by others or making mistakes. But you cannot learn without making mistakes. Think back to how you learned things earlier in your life. You probably didn't do all that flawlessly either?

Correct dosage

To be confident, you don't have to avoid mistakes. The self-doubt and fear of the unknown can be there, as long as they don't start to rule your life. In the right dose, they are very valuable, because they help you think a little longer or gather a little more information. That only improves the result.

Having true confidence starts with the decision to be confident. For that you have to work with your inner critic, so that it has less influence on your daily life. You can also train your body in self-confidence, for example by adopting a power pose (see video below). Finally, you can also tackle your mindset, by focusing more on your qualities than your shortcomings.

Do you doubt whether all this will work? That is very normal and says nothing at all about your self-confidence. It is very normal to have doubts from time to time.

Do you want to get started on this? Please feel free to contact me.