OVERCOMING SELF DOUBT

Hey y’all! If you’re reading this, I hope your day has been productive and you’re not letting the current state of the world beat you down. Life can be very unpredictable but one thing that stands the test of time is our faith. I want to draw your attention to a topic that I could probably write a book about, SELF DOUBT. Oxford’ dictionary defines it as a lack of confidence in oneself and one's abilities. As I reflect on my own life and my experience with self doubt, I realize that I am not the only one who has dealt with this. Over the years, I have developed some practical ways to overcome this and I wanted to share it with you all. DISCLAIMER 🗣 this is not an exhaustive list of what works. Everyone is different and you may have your own way of overcoming self doubt, this is just what worked for me. 1. Believe what God says about you

2. Don’t compare yourself to others

3. Check your Circle 👏🏾👏🏾

4. Accomplish your goals

5. Don’t be so hard on yourself

1. Joshua 1:9

Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.

This was a promise made to Joshua. After Moses died, he was now the new leader of the Israelites. His responsibility was to bring the Israelites into the promise land. Like us, he too was afraid and had his own doubts but with God’s assurance, he was able to do just that. You see, he gained his confidence by trusting in God and believing what God said about him—that he was more than capable of completing the task because God was with him. God is not an ancient folktale. He is ALIVE and is actively fighting for us each and everyday. Just like he was with Joshua, he will be with you also.

2. I’m sure you’ve heard of the statement, “Comparison is the thief of joy.” Well I’m here to affirm that it truly is! Sometimes, this is done unintentionally and we don’t even realize that we are comparing ourselves to someone else. It’s so prominent in this current social climate to compare ourselves to everyone else. Individuality is no longer celebrated because everyone wants to look and be like everyone else. Need proof? Just go on social media—everyone is projecting a life what they WANT you to see and not what is necessarily their reality. Recently, I learned about this YouTube couple who died tragically—the husband killed the wife, her mother, and turned the gun on himself. This is why it’s so important to not envy someone else’s life because you truly don’t know what the person is going through. On the surface, they looked like a “happy family” but that was far from the truth. The point I’m trying to make is, take pride in the life that you live. Improve it as you see fit but not merely to boast on social media to portray a false narrative for “likes or comments” Your self worth should not be based off how many likes or shares you have.

3. One who has unreliable friends soon comes to ruin, but there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother-Proverbs 18:24

I can’t stress this enough. It is so important to have the right people in your circle. It can change the trajectory of your life. I can attest to this personally because throughout my life, I’ve had many people in my circle but not too many reliable ones. It’s easy for people to support your goals and dreams when they don’t see you as competition. Let’s be honest, some of our self doubts came from the very people who we thought had our backs. Sometimes it’s not done intentionally but people have a way of projecting their own fears on you. And then there are others who truly bring out the best in you. Some of my recent successs were a direct result of the people in my circle who believed in me. My friend motivated me to go back to school and if I am where I am now ( a law school graduate) it’s because she believed in me even when I didn’t believe in myself. See, she was a reliable friend. Make sure the people in your boat are not putting holes in it but are helping you row.

4. You know how you're going to ultimately overcome self doubt, by accomplishing your goals! When you accomplish a goal, it boosts your confidence and you feel like you can conquer the world 🌎 💪🏾 I remember my high school graduation like it was yesterday. As I looked on to all of the honor society graduates, I thought to myself “ they are so smart” I felt dumb because I BARELY made a 2.0 and learned only learned I passed the math portion of the FCAT just a few days before graduating (BUT GOD🙌🏾 ) It wasn’t that I wasn’t smart like they were, I didn’t apply myself and I associated with people who didn’t either. When I went to college, I was inducted into three honor societies and even got invited to apply for this elite scholarship to go teach overseas (Former president Bill Clinton was a recipient of such scholarship) Proverbs 13:20 states “Walk with the wise and become wise, for a companion of fools suffers harm.” I’ll just let that sit right there😃

5. Lastly, don’t be so hard on yourself! Now this isn’t an excuse to be lazy and procrastinate but give yourself room for error. You are only human. The Bible tells us that we can do ALL things through Christ who strengthens us. I love that scripture because God knows that sometimes even our own strength, ability, and intelligence will fail us. But whatever you do, keep at it. After all, Rome wasn’t built in one day❤️😘

Whew 🥵 if you made it this far, give yourself a pat on the back👏🏾👏 I did not expect to write this much but again, for this topic, I can write a BOOK! Even though I’ve been super busy lately, writing has become so therapeutic for me so I pray this blessed you. Overcoming self doubt is a daily process. Believe in yourself but most importantly, believe in the creator who took his time to create such a master piece as yourself. You are a LIMITED EDITION. Now WALK in THAT👏🏾👏🏾😘😘

If this blessed you, share it with someone who needs to reassured of who they are:)