“Talk to yourself like you would to someone you love.” –Brené Brown

Have you ever had times when you felt you just didn’t believe in yourself? You lost faith in your abilities and your dreams? You’re not alone. Everyone at some time or another has felt like they just couldn’t see a clear road ahead. They’ve experienced doubts and fears. It may surprise you that some of the most successful people are not immune to these feelings.

It’s important to acknowledge when you feel this way. The first step to overcoming doubts and fears is to be honest with yourself about how you feel. Once acknowledged, they ease a bit and you can take other steps to overcome them and move forward.

One great way to start is to follow the advice of Brené Brown in the above quote. Turn your self talk around to be loving to yourself. Just because something you were wanting to accomplish failed or you hit a bump in the road, it doesn’t mean YOU are a failure. What would you say to a dear friend who was experiencing what you are? How would you speak to a small child who was hurting? That is how you need to speak to yourself.

Imagine you are that small child and speak to yourself lovingly and soothingly. The more you love yourself the more support you feel from the universe.

A lack of faith in yourself is based on flawed beliefs. You have picked up these beliefs from the time you were very young and they reside in your subconscious mind. When you notice your self talk being negative, what thought can you replace it with that supports you? This is a practice of being mindful of your thoughts and deliberately choosing better feeling thoughts.

Another great technique for replacing negative thoughts with more positive ones is EFT, or Emotional Freedom Technique. EFT, sometime called tapping, involves using the acupuncture points on the body, but instead of needles, you tap on those points while talking through your thoughts and feelings. There is plenty of information online and videos on YouTube to get you started.

An additional helpful practice is to focus on what is going right in your life. Even when it may seem like everything is going wrong, there will always be something that is going right. If you are still here, something has gone right! Your business may have failed, or you may have just been fired, but perhaps you have good health or a loving family. You also have your skills and talents that can be put to use in other venues. Making lists of everything that is going right and looking for the positive aspects in your life, will raise your vibration and shift your perspective. When you do that, you put yourself into a higher flow that will allow more to come to you.

You do have the ability to direct your thoughts in better feeling ways. What has worked for you in the past? I’d love for you to share your strategies in the comments below for how you’ve overcome a lack of faith in yourself!