A Simple Way For Lifestyle Entrepreneurs To Overcome Self-Doubt

You have a goal. A mission. A vision of your future.

You know it’s attainable if you put your head down and do the work that needs to be done.

And you do the work because that’s the type of person you are. You’re 100% committed.

You need money to invest in your business - you find it.

You need to spend all of your free time building your business - you do it.

No questions asked. This is too big to pass up.

It’s the opportunity that you’ve always wanted and it’s so close, you can feel it in your blood.

But as you step into your new role as a lifestyle entrepreneur, something happens.

You keep coming up against wall after wall.

And the obstacles in your way seem to outweigh any progress you’ve made.

Your vision is still crystal clear but surely, something’s got to give.

When will you finally start seeing results?

You come to a critical point in your journey…

Do you continue to press forward in hope that there’s a light at the end of the tunnel?

Or do you surrender your dream?

If you’ve ever experienced a situation like this it can be gut-wrenching and despairing, to say the least.

This post is for anyone who’s feeling doubtful about the journey their taking.

A Simple Way To Overcome Self-Doubt

There’s no doubt about it - self-doubt is the silent assassin to your dreams. Like a little worm that slowly creeps its way into your subconscious, it eats away at your confidence in yourself, your abilities and the decisions you’re making.

Of course, self-doubt is merely your own pre-recorded programming, reminding you of past experiences and failures - with the ultimate goal of trying to keep you in a safe and comfortable zone of predictability - even if that means self-sabotage.

But it’s during times of self-doubt, when your mission is big and your confidence is running low, that the real transformation is ready to happen. It’s only when you learn to recognize self-doubt for what it is, and in doing so, confront your fears; that you’re able to become the person you need to be in order to reach your dreams.

When looked at this way, self-doubt is an opportunity to push past your limitations so you can create a new path.

So what can you do when you’re experiencing frustration, procrastination, despair or any other manifestation of self-doubt?

The best way to overcome self-doubt is to create a strategy for dealing with it. This way, as soon as you feel it’s nagging presence, you can begin the process of empowering yourself, by working through your fears.

Here are 3 steps for turning self-doubt into an opportunity for learning and growth...

Recognize What You’re Feeling

When you start telling yourself that you don't have enough time, money, energy, knowledge or intelligence to overcome the obstacles standing in the way of your dreams, it’s most likely that your self-doubt is speaking. Self-doubt often appears when you’re in the midst of overwhelm, and you’re unsure of how to move forward.

The first thing you can do to overcome self-doubt is be honest with yourself and how you’re feeling.

Self-doubt happens when you lose faith in yourself and your dream. But what’s more important is that you recognize self-doubt for what it is, so you can begin the transition from defeat to self-efficacy.

Start by asking yourself the following questions when you’re in the throes of giving up:

• What am I really feeling about this situation?
• What am I really thinking about this situation?
• What am I really trying to avoid in this situation?
• What is the real cause of my self-doubt?

When you take the time to acknowledge what you’re feeling and thinking, you’re able to release the blocked energy from your body and turn it into something powerful and motivating.

Setting Up A System To Deal With Self-Doubt

Now that you’ve identified the real cause of your doubt, it’s time to take back control by focusing on what’s important to you.

This is a great opportunity to reassess where you’re at and where you’re going, while building a bridge between the two points. Problem-solving works best when you take a step back from the situation and break it down into its component parts.

Use the following 3 activities to gain perspective on what you need to do to overcome the obstacle you’re facing:

Make A List Of What You Already Know

Boost your confidence by identifying what you have already accomplished up until this point, and include all of the things that you know about the problem you’re facing.

This step allows you to reflect on the things that are working well, while identifying the things that are obscuring progress.

Make A List Of What You Are Going To Do

Now that you know where you are, identify what you need to do to overcome the hurdle.

Do a little brainstorming here, and playfully come up with all the different ways that you can solve the problem (ie. winning the lottery, learning a new skill, reaching out to someone, etc).

This exercise is really beneficial because not only will it give you humourous relief, but it will also ignite your creative problem-solving skills.

After you’ve come up with a list of actions you can take to solve your problem, filter out the ones that hold promise, and then identify the one action you can take that will make a difference to the situation you’re facing.

Put Your Plan Into Motion

This is the most important step because it is the point where you push past your limitations and create a new sense of confidence.

Using the one action identified in the previous activity, break this activity down into small, manageable steps so that you can build momentum and consistency as you work your way through it. It is critical to take action daily, so you build consistency as you work through solving the problem.

Putting It All Together

Setting up a system to deal with self-doubt is an effective problem solving strategy that can be used in any area of your life. These 3 activities allow you to gain perspective and diffuse overwhelm.

When you learn to break down your problems into manageable components, you’re able to find creative ways to isolate the problem and work through it one step at at time.

Reprogram Your Brain

It's easy to accept your negative thoughts as normal, but you can also train your brain to think positively too. When you program your brain to turn every ‘can't into a can’, and every ‘won't into a will’, you’ll be well on your way to creating new paths to success.

The best way to begin the process of reprogramming yourself is through the use of affirmations - statements that affirm your true beliefs about yourself, your mission and the actions you’re taking to get there.

When creating your positive affirmations, be your own cheerleader and put your doubt to rest.

Remind yourself that you're a capable human being and why your mission is so important. Keep repeating your mantra in the full knowledge that you've got this - and you're on the right track.

Final Thoughts

Self-doubt is only as strong as you let it be.

While it’s normal to second guess yourself, your self-doubt shouldn’t stop you from going for what you want and what’s important to you.

So don't let it stop you.

Follow the steps above so you can shut-down self-doubt as soon as it starts.

Developing a system to deal with self-doubt when it arises will allow you to work through self-doubt step-by-step until you have overcome your obstacle.

When you’ve repeated this process enough times, you’ll be able to look back at your journey and see how far you’ve come.

And that’s something to be really proud of.

How do you overcome self-doubt? Please share your insights...