Overcoming uncertainty. As a child it seemed so easy. A small example? So there I stand. As a little boy’ on the three-meter board with shaky knees. "I turn around and push myself? No!"Close your eyes and go through! The jump into the wet blue. I emerge and the happy hormones put a smile on my face. It was not so bad after all. Quite different even: It was fun! All afternoon I jumped off the three-meter board. But only after I could overcome my insecurities and decided to jump. I have faced the uncertainty.
But unfortunately, these concerns do not remain the same in adulthood. Meanwhile, much bigger and more important feel these situations in which you feel your insecurities confronted.
We develop more mature thought processes and estimate future consequences as well. The childish lightness is replaced with seriousness and future-oriented thinking. Quickly, (self-)doubts, decision-making fears and other worries can be the result.
A shaky voice, sweaty hands, short breathing – the trembling knees remain – but even more reactions can occur. At worst, even our mental and physical health suffers if we have to face our insecurities in the long run and do not manage to overcome them.
One thing is clear, however: Insecurities leave few people cold and cause intense (negative) emotional reactions. It is all the more important not to linger in this status and to check off these sensations as quickly as possible.
We therefore dedicate ourselves to the topic of how you can overcome your insecurity. Because there are different ways how you can deal with these inhibitions! These we want to show you now.
Why it is so important to overcome your insecurity
feeling insecurity is not a nice feeling. It brings primarily only negative consequences with itself.
In one study, participants were asked to describe the related feelings they experience when confronting an uncertainty. Threat" was named as the main response. Few people see an uncertainty as a challenge or adventure from the unknown. Most people feel a threat or. Exposed to fear.
What is certain is that nothing is certain. Even that not.
Joachim Ringelnatz (1883-1934), German writer, cabaret artist and painter Tweet
It can quickly happen that in these moments of uncertainty in one’s Feel restricted in acting and thinking. In the worst cases, you may even lapse into a state of "no action". One feels paralyzed. Decision-making fears, Stress or an instinctive withdrawal behavior before the threat are typical reactions.
The negative cycle of insecurity.
An insecurity can have a firm grip on us. Their presence intimidates us. It can even manifest itself over time or even spread into other areas of life. A professional insecurity can e.g. Not everyone is so easy to leave at work. It can follow you home and have an impact on your personal life.
It is difficult to get rid of insecurities. At worst, it feels like a downward spiral. It is all the more important to stop this process and to free yourself from your insecurity and confront it.
Overcoming insecurity: 7 tips against your own inhibitions
We have compiled 7 tips for you on how to overcome your insecurity. Let’s “approach” insecurity schematically by identifying its origin and then give you more tips that can help you deal with your insecurity.
Overcoming your own insecurity can can be a difficult process, which takes place mainly on a mental level. Many insecurities do not disappear overnight. Therefore, trust the whole process, appreciate the small (intermediate) successes and give yourself the necessary time. Your work will pay off!
1. Recognize the origin of your insecurity
Do you know that there are different types of insecurities? Behind every insecurity hides a particular reason, Why you feel inhibited in the current situation right now.
If the feeling of insecurity arises in you, it can help you in the first place to become aware of its background – and to ask yourself consciously “Why do I feel insecure right now??”.
- Knowledge insecurity – refers to the lack of information, skills or experience to adequately assess the current situation,
- Uncertainty of action – Are doubts about the availability of effective means of intervention and action to change and decide a situation.
- Future insecurity – are certain unpredictabilities and imponderables about the further development of a situation,
- Consequence insecurity – is the fear of the possible consequences for you and others that a situation or decision will bring about,
- Support insecurity – refers to the ambiguity whether support from others is desired or allowed in order to cope with a problem situation.
In order to overcome your own insecurities in the first step, it can help you to recognize their origin in order to “get to the root of the evil. Every insecurity has its reason or. Trigger. It is therefore of great importance that you recognize it, so that you can work on it better.
If you understand more about the background, you will be able to apply the next tips better, and you will also have better access to your current situation and your emotions.
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2. Boost your self-confidence: Become aware of your abilities
If you feel insecure, you can quickly lose confidence in your own abilities. In the first moment you think of all the things you can’t do instead of the things that can help you to cope with such an insecurity and situation.
Mostly, however, you bring much more positive qualities and abilities than you actually think. In such moments of insecurity, they quickly fall into oblivion. But it is precisely in these moments that you are needed! Dismiss your doubts, stand by yourself, be aware of your strengths and what you can do!
Self-awareness plays an important role. It helps you to overcome your insecurity. With a healthy amount of self-confidence you will trust your abilities much more and you will be able to overcome possible doubts.
3. Develop the right mindset
In uncertain moments, thoughts like "I can’t do that" can quickly pop into your head. How am I supposed to do this?".
But have you ever heard of framing?? Framing means that different formulations of a message with the same content influence the recipient’s behavior differently. Depending on how you formulate your message – whether positive or negative – its content will also be understood. So do you believe in a positive or negative outcome of your insecurity?
If you confirm an insecurity with exactly negative thoughts, you give the insecurity the opportunity to develop and establish itself. If you think that you will lose, you should not be surprised if you have lost.
To wrap negative thoughts in positive wording is also called reframing. The typical example: Is the glass half full or half empty for you?
It is scientifically proven that our subconscious mind does not understand negations and therefore negations establish themselves as "truth" in our subconscious mind.
You are guaranteed to fall if you always think about stumbling.
Unknown Tweet
However, if you confront an uncertainty with a positive mindset and tell yourself that you can overcome this situation, a positive outcome is directly much more likely than if you rack your brain to find arguments for your failure.
It’s easier said than done: but talk yourself up and treat your insecurities with a positive frame of mind. Do not give room to your self-doubt. You are the one who decides with what attitude you approach a situation.
4. Stop comparing!
Insecurities quickly result from comparing yourself to others. "He does it better, she can do it better"."We will always be able to find someone who does something better than we do.
But what does this insight bring us, apart from doubts about our own abilities?? You are a unique person with your own special strengths and weaknesses. Just as you will always find a better one, other people may find it in you as well.
Don’t make yourself smaller than you are and call exactly on all your positive qualities. We are always our own biggest critic and are much quicker to list what we can’t do than to say what we are really good at.
You don’t have to please anyone or compare yourself with others. You are you!
The constant comparison does not bring us much, except that we doubt ourselves faster. Just when we are unsettled by a situation, we are much more willing to cultivate self-criticism – and that ultimately reinforces the insecurity.
5. Decision anxiety: Become aware of the worst case scenario
Decision anxiety – A or B? Or maybe C? chaos of thoughts and so many decision possibilities, all of which can be associated with different potential outcomes of a situation.
Insecurity situations trigger particularly intense emotional reactions in many people. Our head no longer functions on a rational objective level and we are increasingly driven by our emotions and fears.
Every outcome of a situation seems equally realistic – or even worse: You fear the worst in your Decision-making process.
You paint the devil on the wall. But you know what? Such behavior is quite natural. People are risk averse, you shy away from the risk. Two of the most prominent forms of this risk aversion are to excessive Fear of making mistakes and the irrational idea of the so-called worst-case scenario – the worst outcome of a situation.
Much of the worry is unfounded fear.
Jean Paul Sartre (1905-1980), French novelist, philosopher and publicist Tweet
But let’s be honest: How often has a situation really backfired completely?? How realistic do you REALLY think the chances of a worst-case scenario are?? I can give you the answer: Far too rarely to pay such close attention to these worries. But there we humans are all the same.
If you want to overcome your insecurity, answer yourself honestly the question how likely a positive or negative outcome is. negative outcome of your decision is? Try to judge this really objectively and try to exclude your emotions a little bit.
6. Find a way to overcome your insecurity
By now, we’re pretty far along – and soon to be at the end – with our tips on how you can overcome your insecurity. You already know many tools of the trade on how to identify and mentally confront your insecurity.
But now we have to deal with the practical implementation of the tips to help you overcome your insecurity. What are the possibilities? A plan will help you . Every insecurity can be individual. So it’s hard to prepare an explicit guide for your individual insecurity.
We make learning plans, structure our everyday life with a calendar, organize celebrations with a to-do list. Why then not also when it comes to conquering his insecurity?
Make a plan, create transparency and structure for yourself, how you want to approach your insecurity. To design such a plan is not quite intuitive. But understand the origin of your insecurity. Where does your inhibition come from and what possibilities can you think of to overcome it?? Getting to your goal without a roadmap is much harder. Create clues that you can use to work on your insecurity.
To give you an idea of what this is all about, let’s give you a practical example.
Someone has presentation anxiety. What can he do about it?
The origin of this can be quite different. Maybe he doesn’t trust the situation and is unsure how he will do in front of his audience. Possibly a faux pas happens to him? What if he doesn’t have an answer to a question or he makes a mistake in his presentation? All of these are practical examples of uncertainty of action, knowledge, and the future.
His plan might be as follows:
1) Before the presentation, counteract your excitement with breathing and relaxation exercises.
2) Delivering your presentation on your own, speaking to yourself and internalizing the content to be presented.
3) Then give the presentation in front of close relatives or good friends.
4) Answering the questions of the small audience, getting feedback and suggestions for improvement.
5) Reflect on yourself: What was his emotional state during the presentation? How confidently has he been able to present his content? How was he with the excitement and insecurity?
The definitely safer option is the above example. The slow approach – step by step to the big goal. Especially with such a sensitive topic as overcoming your own insecurities, it’s important to divide your challenge into small portions. With every partial success you can gain further self-confidence before you have conquered the "big picture".
Personally, I prefer the more radical variant, telling myself at a certain point: "No more fun!! Now is the time. I face my obstacle, look it in the eye and see how I do in this situation."Regardless of success or failure, I will gather my experience and try to improve it if necessary. again in the second attempt.
However, the core idea becomes clear: Where there is a will, there is also a way. Ask yourself about your path and look for your possibilities. You can’t hide from your inhibitions forever.
Find your answers HOW you can overcome your insecurity. What possibilities are available to you or. which you can create for yourself?
And remember: You do not have to face your insecurity alone . Communication helps as so often in such situations. Maybe someone close to you can give you some good advice or accompany you on your way to overcome your insecurity.
7. Phenomenon Sensation Seeking: Accept the challenges
What is the main reason why you need to overcome an insecurity? We are afraid of the outcome of a situation, and that it does not meet our expectations.
But have you ever heard of Sensation Seeking belongs to? Sensation Seeking is described as a multidimensional personality trait. It is characterized by the behavior to seek out new, complex and intense experiences in situations. The situation can come from physical, psychological or social challenges or risks.
Roughly speaking, an insecurity is nothing else: a risk resp. A challenge with an outcome that is not certain.
Easier said than done: But if you see exactly such an uncertainty – as a challenge to your person – we may also reduce the intimidating effect of this uncertainty.
An uncertainty is a situation that challenges you. Not everywhere will have the same positive excitement from uncertainty. But much more it is about overcoming, confronting and not hiding from your insecurity.
Isn’t it a totally liberating feeling when you are overwhelmed by endorphins after you have overcome your insecurity and walked off the pitch as a winner?? I already find. Dare to jump into the cold water (here we are again with our three meter board) and face your insecurity. Who is the scaredy cat now? You do not!
Our final word
Those were our seven tips on how to overcome your insecurity. Realize that most insecurities are in your head and sometimes we make them bigger than they really are.
Do not shy away from the unknown, but accept the challenge and use it as an opportunity to grow. Don’t let the under security have control over you, but the other way around. You are up to the situation – for sure!
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