5 Confidence Killers to Conquer

Confidence is one of the most important traits when it comes to living a happy and fulfilling life.  Without confidence in ourselves and our abilities we will struggle to thrive and achieve our potential, we’ll have issues being true to ourselves, and it will inhibit us from having deep and trusting relationships with others.

We all have inner gremlins that allow self-doubt to creep in, even those of us who generally believe in ourselves. If any of these are squashing your confidence – you definitely want to take action!

1. Feeling Unworthy – We may feel physically capable of doing something but believing we are deserving of the opportunity can have us second guessing ourselves.  That little voice that asks, “Who am I to do this?” can keep us on the sidelines and out of the arena.  Flipping the question to “Why not me?” can be a powerful reframe to focus on our strengths and talents, rather than what we think we may be lacking. 
2. Past Failures – Little holds us back more than our focus on what went wrong in the past.  Criticism and failures can powerfully overshadow past successes and compliments making us believe that we are destined for more of the same negative outcomes.  Looking at our failures as opportunities to learn and grow so we can set ourselves up for future success will help us feel secure that we WON’T repeat the same mistakes, rather than creating a belief that we will.
3. Comparing Ourselves to Others – Comparisonitis is one of the quickest ways we can shrink our belief in ourselves.  When we compare ourselves to someone else we hyperfocus on all the things they have that we don’t without considering much else.  It can starkly make our accomplishments and talents seem small.  Keeping our eyes on our own lane and eliminating such sources of comparison is our best way to combat this confidence killer.  If that’s not possible, focusing on all the ways you are different and your own strengths can help put things into a more realistic perspective.
   
4. Naysayers and Negative Nelly’s – It’s hard enough to believe in ourselves without having others around us questioning our abilities and potential. One doubting question or negative review can have us questioning everything about ourselves.  Eliminate and ignore the doubters and haters – surround yourself with people who will raise you up, and believe in you.
5. Overthinking and Perfectionism – As creatures of safety and planning we can easily start overthinking all of the things that can go wrong or why we aren’t good enough quickly diminishing feelings of courage and confidence.  Putting things into perspective, and keeping in mind “done is better than perfect” can help keep our confidence levels up.  

In short, surround yourself with people who believe in you, maintain a positive mindset, and keep things in perspective.  Our confidence should be actively fostered and guardedly protected. 

If you find these or other confidence killers are holding you back join UGO and Women in Biz Network on Tuesday, June 8th at 10am as we host 3 Keys to Up-Level Your Confidence in Biz and Life.