8 Tips for Believing in Yourself When Your Confidence is Low

If your social media newsfeed is anything like mine it is full of inspirational and motivational quotes & posts encouraging you to believe in yourself & to go after your goals full throttle. It sounds good, but what if you don’t believe in yourself? Truth is, sometimes our goals are scary. And sometimes it is hard to feel confident when you are attempting something you have never tried before.

So, what do you do when you don’t have the belief you need to be successful? These are my 8 tips for creating self-belief when it’s lacking.

1.    Remember your past successes.  You have accomplished things before. Remembering past successes is helpful when you start feeling down and doubting yourself. Find a way to keep your past achievements & the feelings that came with them in the forefront of your memory. For me, that often involves pictures, reliving the emotions I felt in the moment(s) and sometimes even thinking through the steps I took to become successful. Building on past experiences can definitely help propel you forward.

2.    Break your goal down into smaller steps.  Sometimes we don’t believe in ourselves because we are overwhelmed. Instead of thinking about EVERYTHING you have to do, break it down into small steps. What do you need to do in 1 day, or 1 week? Not only is it less overwhelming, but the small successes along the way will build your confidence & belief in yourself.

3.    Do some personal development.  Perhaps you don’t believe in yourself because you don’t know how to do something that is necessary to accomplish your goal. There are books, articles, videos and websites about EVERYTHING. If you are lacking confidence because you are lacking skills, be intentional about learning what you need to know. The new knowledge will increase your confidence & will make it possible for you to succeed.

4.    Get a mentor or success partner. Having someone to encourage, motivate and problem solve with you is beneficial for accomplishing your goals. An outside perspective can help you see your strengths & give you advice for tackling your weaknesses. Plus, there is something extremely motivating about bouncing ideas off another person. When I talk to other entrepreneurs and mentors, my creative juices start flowing & I feel unstoppable.

5.    Surround yourself with positivity.  Fill your spirit with encouragement and positivity. It is hard to be negative & feel defeated when you are surrounded by positive affirmations and encouragement. You can do this by reading encouraging books & articles, listening to uplifting podcasts, following motivational social media accounts and even just saving positive quotes/pictures in your phone.

6.    Visualize your success. Close your eyes and picture yourself accomplishing your goal. Don’t focus on how far away it is, don’t think about everything that needs to happen – just fast forward to the end and imagine your success. How does it feel? What does it look like? What do you look like? When you want to quit, take a few minutes to visualize yourself being successful.

7.    Encourage yourself. Everybody isn’t going to be your cheerleader. Sometimes you just need to stop, look in the mirror and encourage yourself.

8.    Take it one day at a time. Big goals don’t come without challenging days and even some failures. Take things one day at a time. Don’t beat yourself up when you fail. Don’t quit because you had a hard day. And most importantly, regroup and get back in the game as soon as possible. Maybe Monday was a bust, but that doesn’t mean the whole week is shot. Every day is a new day & there is a chance to “win” every day.

These are some of my favorite strategies for creating self-belief when you are full of doubt. But obviously, there are other strategies that work for some people. How do you motivate & encourage yourself? I would love to hear your thoughts! Leave them in the comments.

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