Good morning, ladies! Today’s post is a little bit different because I want to talk about something that is not fashion or beauty related. I want to talk about self-confidence and self doubt. The social media age has created a self-confidence vacuum that many people find themselves sucked into. But there’s plenty of other situations which can cause you to feel self-doubt, so it’s important to look at it from a larger scale. Social media seems to be the big one for me, but we all face different challenges. In today’s post, I’m sharing a few steps for identifying what causes you to feel self-doubt and developing your own tools for fighting back.
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ONE. STEP AWAY FROM THE CAUSES.
For me, social media is a huge factor. I have to get myself off of everything, including Pinterest. In general, YouTube is about a 50/50 for me. Sometimes it can cause those feelings, other times it is hugely helpful for helping my soothe them. So when I start having bad thoughts, I immediately put away my social media. I only keep my phone around me if watching YouTube will make me feel better. If not, I lose my phone.
Next time you start to feel self-doubt or anxiety, stop what you’re doing and take out a piece a paper and make a list of all the things you did in the last 15-30 minutes. More than likely one of those things is the cause of your thoughts. Keep this list on hand, and then follow the next two steps. Make another list the next time, and start to cross-reference the lists you build. Soon enough, you’ll know exactly what causes you to feel self-doubt and you can go into those situations prepared to handle them. If possible, stop doing those activities altogether.
TWO. BUILD ME-FIRST KITS.
Find activities that make you feel really good, or at least distract you from feeling bad, and build a kit so they’re easily accessible. Don’t always put everything back in a special home. For crafty hobbies, use an old shoebox to collect certain things that you can use to make something and put them in the box. So when you’re struggling, you can’t convince yourself to sit there and suffer because it takes all of 2 seconds to get started. If you have a hobby like running or fitness that help, pack some clothes and equipment into a box or bag so it’s easily accessible, too.
I highly recommend something physical or creative for coping with self-doubt and self-confidence issues because they require a ton of focus and the product of your labor is immediately felt and/or seen. You can also pack away a journal and some different colored pens to write or illustrate your feelings and try to write out a pep talk that you would give someone else who felt like you do.
THREE. UNDERSTAND THAT SELF-CONFIDENCE IS PERCEIVED.
This one is last because it is the hardest. It takes daily, serious, conscious effort. Social media is a highlight reel. No matter how much we try to be honest and share our struggles, what we post is still curated content. Therefore it is not descriptive of everything we think and feel. When we take in other people’s content, we have to remember that the same holds true for them. Their content is curated, and therefore necessarily lacking many of the emotions they may have. They might have the biggest smile on their face, but they could have been crying an hour ago; and unless they tell you, you will never know. So step away from social media, get out your me-first kit,
How about that? It’s a bit of a heavier post, but I think it’s just as important as any other content I share. If not more so. We should all work together to help build each other up in a world where it’s so easy to be torn down. So my question for you is, How do you deal with self doubt? Share below so we can all benefit as well!
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