Self-doubt is a natural part of human experience. Everyone has moments in which they are not sure of themselves, and for some these moments permeate into their psyche until it becomes a lifestyle. Although it is detrimental to live with complete certitude in what you do, it is equally negative to lose all confidence in your capabilities.

The question is, how do you overcome the doubt and insecurity you have? Or at the very least, what can you do to develop your self-confidence?

The fact is, self-confidence is a state of mind that requires some dedication and practice to establish. Becoming a confident person is not an instant change but rather a gradual process, just like learning to write or play tennis. With practice and dedication, you will undoubtedly notice positive results.

Here are 8 helpful tips for getting rid of your skepticism

1: Pinpoint your insecurities, and try to notice the ones that are strongest

Before you are able to overcome your doubts, you need to know what they are! Furthermore, knowing your particular weaknesses will help you designate what you should be spending more of your mental energy conquering.

2: Find a hobby or a lot more time for a hobby you already have in place

Take a class or join a club. If you are doing something you love, your life is endowed with purpose and meaning, which inevitably leads to a love of oneself. Moreover, by exhibiting your talents in a public place with likeminded people you overcome your shyness and find individuals who could potentially become lifelong friends!

3: Identify your accomplishments

Now, you don’t have to have a Nobel Prize and an Oscar to consider yourself successful. Try to find the hidden, small successes in life. For example, if you read a thick book or cleaned the house instead of watching television, you can say that you are trying to improve yourself and your environment. Not to mention it illustrates that you have great discipline. Ultimately, confidence is all about your outlook on life!

4: Help other people

Being altruistic has been shown to be a cure for self-doubt by many scientific studies. Whether you are helping a friend move or donating some money to a homeless person you come across, you are making a difference in someone’s life. Thus, your action has made you matter to the other person, a feeling which brings with it a certain level of fulfillment.

5: Face your fears

Try doing what you are most afraid of. You’ll find out it wasn’t as bad as you thought. By doing something you never thought you would, you will make all of your other insecurities seem relatively insignificant.

6: Take a different view on failure

Don’t treat mistakes as a reflection of your incompetence, but as an opportunity to improve yourself. If you find this difficult use the internet as a source of inspiration- you can always Google a story about a college dropout becoming a billionaire. Clearly there are some ways to bounce back from failure.

7: Talk to someone

Unload your fears and insecurities and get an objective opinion. When you built something up in your head, you often perceive a scenario to be worse than it is.

8: Be thankful for what you have!

You are an accomplished person in one way or another and there are plenty of positive qualities in you. What’s more, by reading about ways to gain self-confidence you are a proactive person who is taking active steps to improve yourself!

Article By Joel Brown