Self-doubt can silently undermine our potential across various aspects of life, from work to personal relationships. Annie Souza delves into the roots of this inner critic, emphasizing that confidence is not a magical trait but a skill that can be developed step by step each day. She shares practical strategies for overcoming self-doubt, such as setting small, manageable goals, practicing affirmations, and maintaining a journaling habit to track progress. By taking action despite fears, listeners can break free from the paralysis of overthinking and learn to celebrate their achievements, no matter how small. Join Annie as she guides you on a journey toward building confidence and embracing your capabilities.

Tackling self-doubt is a journey many can relate to, as it often manifests in various aspects of life, from professional aspirations to personal relationships. Annie Souza dives into the pervasive nature of self-doubt, exploring its roots and offering practical strategies to combat it. She emphasizes that self-doubt is that nagging voice within, whispering fears of inadequacy and failure. This voice can be particularly loud for those of us who identify as neurodivergent, but it is a universal struggle. Throughout the episode, Annie shares her personal experiences with self-doubt, recounting moments of anxiety and hesitation in her journey toward pursuing her goals, such as becoming a therapist and launching her podcast.

The core message conveyed is that confidence is not an innate quality but a skill that can be cultivated through consistent action. Annie provides actionable strategies for listeners, including setting small goals, practicing affirmations, journaling progress, and managing expectations. By breaking down larger goals into manageable steps, listeners can begin to celebrate small victories, which in turn fosters a sense of capability and builds momentum. The discussion encourages vulnerability, urging listeners to express their needs and set boundaries in relationships without fear of rejection, thereby reinforcing self-worth and confidence.

Annie's insights underscore that self-doubt is a common human experience, and the way to overcome it is through persistence and practice. As she wraps up, she invites her audience to take one small action towards a goal they’ve been hesitant about, reinforcing that each step taken, no matter how small, contributes to building a more confident self. This episode serves as an empowering reminder that everyone has the potential to silence their inner critic and embrace their aspirations.

Takeaways:

• Self doubt is a common experience that can affect anyone, preventing them from achieving their goals.
• Confidence is built through consistent action, not waiting for the right moment or feeling ready.
• Setting small, manageable goals can help you overcome self doubt and build momentum.
• Practicing affirmations can change how you view yourself and challenge negative thoughts.
• Keeping a journal to track daily achievements reinforces a growth mindset over perfectionism.
• Managing expectations allows for imperfection, helping you focus on effort rather than outcomes.

Hi there, and welcome back to a mask your mind.

I'm your host, Annie Souza.

And today we're building on what we've talked about in week one, silencing negative self talk by diving deeper into one of the biggest roots of that inner critic, self doubt.

So if you've ever found yourself second guessing your abilities, overthinking decisions, or holding back from taking that next step, this episode is for you.

Self doubt can creep into every area of our lives, work, relationships, personal goals, and quietly sabotage our potentials.

But here's the good news.

You don't have to wait for confidence to magically appear before you go after the things you want, because confidence is something you build step by step every single day.

Today, I'm going to be sharing practical strategies to help you.

You just do that.

So let's get started.

Self doubt.

What is self doubt?

Understanding it.

So let's dive into this.

Self doubt is that fear, right?

That thing that you're not capable, that little voice inside of you that's saying you're not capable or worthy enough to achieve something is that little voice that whispers, what if I failed?

What if I'm not good enough?

It keeps you from trying even things that you have, the skills and potential.

Listen, guys, story time.

Personally, I don't know about you as an adhder, as a neurodivergent.

I think anybody, even neurotypical people, right?

Everybody has that little voice.

I've heard that voice all throughout my life.

What if I fail?

What if I'm not a good mom?

What if I'm not good at my studies?

When I was studying?

What if I failed the test?

Oh, my goodness, you guys.

Listen, I battled test anxiety my whole life, and that little voice has been always loud when it came to tests.

What if I fail?

What if I don't graduate?

What if I can do this when I wanted to study mental health?

What if I can do this when I was going to be launching, unmask your mind.

What if it fails when I was trying to, even with my kids?

What if I fail as a mom?

And the one thing I've learned, you guys, is that we're always going to have that voice because it's something that we have inside of us, right?

But if we build on the skills and we still go at it instead of avoiding it, then the voice stops becoming so loud.

And when we start proving ourselves that we actually didn't fail, we passed the test.

We became therapists.

In my case, we became accountants.

We became actors.

Whatever it is that we want to do that, that voice is telling us we're going to fail at.

Then we realize, wait a minute, that voice is just not real.

And that's what I'm trying to help you guys hear those skills and the potential that we all have inside of us.

That little voice, that self doubt, the impact that it has in our relationships, that fear of rejection or abandonment, it literally can stop you from expressing your needs or setting boundaries.

So imagine you're in a relationship and you're scared that if I tell this person, how many of you right now, if this resonates, please let me know.

Feel comment dm me, how many of you have ever been in a relationship that a person tells you, hey, I want to go out on a long trip with you and you're not ready, but you don't want to tell that person because what if they abandoned me?

Or the person says, hey, let's go eat at a sushi restaurant or at an italian restaurant, but you just don't say anything because you don't want them to think bad of you and reject you.

And that stops you from expressing your needs or your boundaries.

You deserve to have your boundaries heard right.

And at work, that self doubt can lead to procrastination, that imposter syndrome, that hesitation to pursue promotions or new opportunities.

Imagine you having that little no.

What if I'm not good enough?

So then there's a big promotion at work.

You have the qualifications, but what if I fail?

What if I'm not good enough?

So all of a sudden, someone else next to you, who has overcome this, applies and gets the job or the promotion, and you're still on the same post, at the same place, not growing, while everybody else is just going at it.

And what about in your personal goals?

You might avoid setting goals altogether, altogether, just because that voice, it just keeps getting louder and louder.

You're just afraid of not achieving them.

Like diet, exercise, well, being emotional, any type of personal goals.

So that confidence is about practice, not a destination.

And that's the most important thing that you need to remember.

So confidence isn't about being fearless or never doubting yourself.

That is the biggest mistake ever.

We are all going to be flawed.

We're all going to have feelings.

So this idea that we are humans and we are supposed to never have fear, always be brave, never be scared, never falter.

Those are things that are not real.

Those are robots.

And we are human beings with layers and complexities, right?

And that's what makes us amazing at the same time.

So confidence, like us is just about layers.

So it isn't about being fearless or never doubting yourself, it's about taking action despite those doubts.

Its a daily practice of showing up, learning and celebrating all of your efforts.

So the more you take action, the more that confidence grows.

And the more your confidence grows, the easier it becomes to take action.

So its like a positive feedback loop.

Like I said before, in my example, if you avoid something, that confidence starts growing smaller and then your avoidance becomes bigger.

So that self doubt becomes bigger and you start avoiding things and you become smaller.

But the more you take action, that confidence starts growing and that's how you start becoming bigger and it becomes easier.

So at the beginning, you guys, it's like a pool.

You know, when you go jump on a pool or when you go on a pool, at the beginning it's very cold, but once you're in there, it's warm and nice.

It's the same thing.

So what are the strategies?

This is what I want to help you guys in this podcast.

Strategies to help you jump on that pool and start feeling comfortable and warm and enjoying the water.

Because why is it that the strategies work?

Because when you have goals setting and celebrate the small wins, you're starting to achieve manageable goals and you start building that momentum and you start showing yourself that you're capable.

So for example, let's say that you set a micro goal for today.

Something as simple as sending that email you've been avoiding or asking someone out, or doing something that you were scared that you were going to fail.

When you celebrate, when you do it, that win, each small win adds up and you start realizing, wait, I was able to do it.

Wait a minute, you're right.

I don't have test, I do have test anxiety.

But I was able to beat it.

I passed the test.

I was able to send the email, I was able to ask the person out.

So you start proving to yourself that you are capable of doing it.

Yes, with some level of concern, but you're able to do it.

And that's the whole point.

You're able to build on that momentum.

Another skill.

Let's start numbering them.

So number one, goal setting and celebrating those small wins.

Number two, guys, affirmations for personal growth.

In the other podcast, I mentioned affirmations, and I understand a lot of people think that they don't work.

But like I mentioned before, affirmations start changing the way that our brain is wired to how we behave, how we feel and how we see things.

So if you start writing down three affirmations that speak to the kind of person you want to become.

For example, I am capable of handling challenges, or I am enough, just as I am say them every morning.

Even if you don't believe them yet, you truly don't have to be 100% believing them.

But as you start doing them slowly, you're going to be getting to the 100% and believing them.

And then you're going to start acting and behaving as that affirmation states.

Number three, journaling.

To track the progress, you guys.

Journaling.

Journaling.

Journaling.

Because at the end of each day, if you start writing down one thing, one thing you did well, and one thing you learned, that's going to reinforce the habit of focusing on growth instead of perfection.

Hey, Annie.

But you know what?

My learning style.

I'm neurodivergent.

I have dyslexia dysgraphia.

Writing for me is very difficult.

I get that, guys.

I'm on that boat.

I'm part of that camp.

So use a voice memo, journal through voice memo.

You can talk to your phone, iPad, you can use that.

But important is that at the end of each day, write something down, audio something down, document something that you've learned, because this is going to reinforce that habit of focusing on growth instead of perfection.

Now, number four, and this is not a good skill set when you manage the expectations and the overthinking, because how can you overcome, how can you stop the overthinking?

When you find yourself spiraling into overthinking, ask what's the worst case scenario?

So often, you're going to realize that even the worst case scenario is manageable.

So like I said at the beginning, in my example, thinking that I was going to fail, thinking that I wasn't going to be good enough, thinking that I wasn't going to pass the test, all of those things.

But then when you realize, wait a minute, I was able to do it, then you realize, huh, the worst case scenario is not that worst case.

So that's how you start managing those worst case scenarios.

They become more manageable.

And then you start focusing on what's within your control, managing those expectations.

You start to learn to set realistic expectations for yourself.

Not every task or goal has to be a grand achievement.

Allow yourself to be human and imperfect.

When you start combating, fighting those self doubts in work, in the relationship, and your personal ambitions, you start being able to fight the self doubt.

So in relationships, for instance, that self doubt might make you feel afraid to ask for what you need, right?

Because you think you don't deserve it.

So challenge this by practicing vulnerability.

Start small, like asking a friend for help when you need it.

Like, for instance, my daughter.

She has trouble asking for help from the teachers and from the friends.

So by start asking her, asking the teachers and the friends for help, she's going to start realizing that that vulnerability doesn't mean something scary.

So she starts small at work.

Have you ever been held back from being applied, applying from a promotion because you thought, well, you weren't ready?

Okay, you guys, here's a truth bomb.

Most people don't feel ready, but they apply anyway because growth happens when you step outside your comfort zone.

And what about your personal ambitions?

Self doubt can make personal goals feel overwhelming.

Break them down into bite size steps and focus on the progress, not the perfection.

So remember, every step forward, no matter how small counts.

One listener shared how she overcame self doubt by setting a small goal to attend a networking event.

She was terrified.

No one is saying this is easy, but she won.

And not only did she survive, she also made meaningful collections, connections.

She was able to network, meet new people that help her in her personal and professional growth.

So this is a reminder that confidence grows when you take action.

Do you have a story about how you overcame self doubt?

I would love to hear it, and we can share it with the listeners.

So dm me on instagram, dot your, dot mine, or leave a comment wherever you're listening.

Now, let's go over this one last time.

Let's see the four actionable takeaways.

Set a small goal.

Pick one small thing you've been putting off.

Maybe it's making a phone call or trying something new, but do it today.

The affirmation practice, guys, I understand, but try it.

Write down three affirmations that challenge your self doubt.

Say them every morning for the next week.

Number three journaling challenge.

At the end of each day, jot down audio.

One thing you're proud of and one thing you've learned.

And then four.

Manage the expectations.

Give yourself permission to do things imperfectly.

Focus on effort and progress, not perfection.

Self doubt, guys, is normal, but it doesn't have to hold you back.

So every time you take a step forward, no matter how small, you're building confidence.

And remember, confidence isn't about feeling ready.

It's about taking action, even when you're scared.

So this week, take one small action towards something you've been doubting yourself about.

It can be as simple as saying yes to any opportunity or setting a boundary in a relationship.

You got this, guys.

Now next time we're going to be talking about how to set healthy boundaries without guilt so you can say no and still feel good about it.

You won't want to miss it.

Thanks for spending time with me on unmask your mind.

And if you found today's episode helpful, please subscribe rate and share it with someone who could use a little confidence boost.

Remember, you are all capable.

You are all enough.

And you've got this.

Until next time, take care.