Self-doubt and a lack of awareness of your own strengths and talents can lead to you quickly losing motivation and becoming more focused on the judgment of others than on yourself. Here are some exercises that can help you develop self-confidence and clarity about your own strengths and build authentic commitment in the long term. Discover your own greatness!
1. Strength analysis through self-reflection
• Goal: make your own strengths and talents visible through targeted questions.
• Exercise: take a piece of paper and answer the following questions:
• What do I find easy? Are there activities that I can do without much effort?
• What do I often get compliments for? Are there any characteristics or skills that others particularly notice about me?
• When do I lose track of time? Activities that make you lose track of time are often areas where your own talents lie.
• What gives me energy? What activities leave me feeling fulfilled and energized?
• Result: this exercise helps you recognize patterns and focus on strengths that often remain unconscious.
2. Diary of small successes
• Goal: focus on positive experiences and small daily successes.
• Exercise: every evening, write down three things that you have done well or that you are proud of. These can be small successes, such as a productive task at work or a friendly contact with someone.
• Long-term benefit: over time, self-perception becomes more positive and the focus is more on your own abilities than on supposed deficits.
3. Get feedback from people you trust
• Goal: get a realistic and positive picture from the outside.
• Exercise: ask three to five people you trust what they see as your greatest strengths and talents. Ask them to give concrete examples.
• Why this is helpful: others often see qualities that you overlook or take for granted. This feedback helps to uncover blind spots and gives new perspectives.
4. Vision board of personal successes and goals
• Goal: a visual representation of successes and goals as daily motivation.
• Exercise: create a vision board with photos, quotes, images and memories that represent your previous successes and your future goals. Hang it in a clearly visible place to remind yourself of them every day.
• Benefit: the board can serve as a motivator to focus on yourself again instead of looking to others.
By the way, once a month, usually on the first Sunday morning at 10 a.m. CET, there is a vision work session in which we work together on our goals. Feel free to register here.
5. Mindfulness exercises to combat comparison and self-doubt
• Goal: practice mindfulness in order to compare yourself less to others and develop more self-acceptance.
• Exercise: use short mindfulness meditations every day (e.g. 10 minutes) to focus on the here and now and observe self-doubt without judging it. Practice self-compassion when critical thoughts arise.
• Benefit: over time, this practice can help you not to be discouraged by comparisons and instead focus on your own path.
6. "Why do I want this?" reflection to clarify goals
• Goal: get to the bottom of your own goals to find out which ones really come from within and are not influenced by external factors.
• Exercise: sit down with a piece of paper and write down a goal you want to achieve. Then ask yourself repeatedly "Why do I want this?" until you find a really deep, authentic need that lies behind your goal.
• Benefit: this clarity makes it easier to commit because the goal really comes from your own motivation.
7. Positive affirmations and self-talk
• Goal: counteract negative self-talk and strengthen self-confidence.
• Exercise: formulate 3-5 affirmations that empower you, e.g. "I am talented and have a lot to offer" or "I trust in my abilities and decisions". Repeat them out loud or in writing every day.
• Benefit: self-doubt is reduced through repeated affirmations and self-confidence is strengthened.
8. View experimentation and failure as a learning experience
• Goal: dare to try things without being afraid of making mistakes.
• Exercise: set yourself small experiments that help you explore your strengths, e.g. a new course or a challenge that is outside your comfort zone. View every attempt, even if it fails, as a learning experience and write down what you were able to learn from it.
• Benefit: this exercise helps to reduce the fear of failure and develop more confidence in your own abilities.
9. Find a mentor or coach
• Goal: external support to discover and develop your own talents and strengths.
• Exercise: consider whether there is someone in your environment who can act as a mentor, or look for a coach to work specifically on your strengths and goals.
• Benefit: a mentor or coach can offer helpful impulses and a different perspective and help you to define goals more clearly and persevere when faced with challenges.
Each of these exercises aims to develop an authentic self-image and increase your self-esteem. Over time, it becomes easier to act on your own inner drive and to stick to goals without being influenced by comparisons or doubts.
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