Fear and self-doubt can be crippling. It’s not easy to enjoy your life or to achieve great things when you’re afraid or doubt your capabilities. Many people stay away from situations that trigger these mental states, but that’s a severely limited way to approach life.

Most of the best things in life lie on the other side of fear and doubt!

Banish fear and self-doubt from your life with these strategies:

1. Tackle smaller fears first. The way to become good at handling big fears is to tackle small fears first. Look at the things that make you just a little bit uncomfortable and force yourself to do them. You’ll notice that they become a little easier to do the next time. Then move on to more moderate fears and force yourself to do those too.
   • Prove to yourself that you can overcome your fears. You’ll start to believe that you can do almost anything.

2. Examine the source of your self-doubt. Why do you have self-doubt? What is the source of your doubt? Is this source reliable? Perhaps you’ll realize that you don’t have a reason to doubt yourself at all.
3. Stay present with your thoughts. When we allow ourselves to look into the future, we are burning with worry. When you look ahead, you’re likely to assume the worst. Keep your mind in the present, and you’ll find that your fear diminishes.
4. Ask yourself, “What’s the worst that can happen?” Think about the worst possible reasonable outcome. How bad would that be? How would you respond to that?
   • Creating a plan that you can put into place for dealing with that worst possible outcome will lessen your fear.

5. Breathe. Sometimes the best thing you can do is just breathe. Slow, deep breaths help to calm down your physiology and reduce the fight or flight response. Deep breathing can be an effective way to reduce the fear and self-doubt you’re feeling.
6. Skip being perfect. Perfection is unattainable. The pursuit of perfection creates anxiety. Certainly, you’ll feel self-doubt if perfection is your goal. Be realistic and your fear and self-doubt will be minimized.
   • You don’t have to be right or successful very often to have an amazing life!

7. Realize that everyone has fears. You’re not alone. In fact, fear can be an advantage. When you’re able to overcome your fears, and others are not, you have a great advantage over all of your competition.
8. Pretend you’re courageous. Imagine how you would stand, think, and breathe if you were the bravest person on the face of the Earth. Allow yourself to have that posture and those thoughts. Notice how much more courageous you feel.
9. Visualize success. Visualize yourself being successful. The more times you can see yourself being successful, the less fear you’ll feel, and your confidence will grow.
10. Take action. Taking action is one of the best ways to overcome fear. Even if you’re afraid at the beginning, your fear will shrink in the face of your activity. Sometimes, getting started is the hardest part.

How much do fear and self-doubt control your decisions? How much more could you accomplish if you were able to overcome these mental states? Avoid the urge to give in to these emotions. You can be and experience more! Overcome your fears and refuse to allow self-doubt to limit your life.