Many people may see self-doubt as one of their weaknesses. Even when we are young we are taught that we shouldn't doubt our abilities, we need to believe in ourselves.
BUT what if we can think of self-doubt in a more positive light?
It all comes down to the way that you talk to yourself... that voice in your head is one which you listen to every day.
Whether it is making you feel guilty for that extra bit of cake you had, reprimanding you for saying the wrong thing in a presentation, or forgetting to send that email... we could all do with the voice in our heads being a little nicer.
In an article by Rich Karlgaard, he suggests 'Self-doubt can actually help you bloom', and he says it all starts with how you talk to yourself.
His idea stems from the fact that we can improve self-efficacy by talking to ourselves - which is luckily something we all already do. Self-efficacy is the confidence we have in our ability to do something.
So how can we harness self-doubt to help us bloom with the help of self-efficacy? Well if we manage it properly and don't allow it to change from doubt to actually thinking we can't do something then it can prevent complacency.
As Karlgaard says if we use self-doubt properly, it will ensure that we question results, experiment with new strategies, and find different ways to solve problems. It will ultimately drive us to be more successful. You can read the full article here!
Important things to remember: (always but especially during challenging times)
- Self-doubt is normal.
- We should embrace self-doubt as a part of the process towards self-improvement.
- Be kind to ourselves, we listen to the voice in our head more than any other.