3 Journaling Tips to Overcome Self Doubt

I didn't always enjoy writing, let alone letting others read my writing.

The worst for me was reading or sharing in a classroom setting. When I was young I was really scared of giving class presentations... I even had a panic attack in grade 4.

The story I told myself was that I was bad at writing and that I will only write for school assignments. It also didn't help that English was always my worst subject.

Because I didn't think I was a "good" writer, I didn't see value in writing outside of work or school.

I associated reading and writing with school... grades... exams... something I had to do and not something I wanted to do.

Now, I write daily. I started writing in a travel journal in 2015 and continued ever since.

If you have been thinking about starting to write in a journal, diary, blog, forum, social media, etc., I highly recommend you to start! (Even if it is just for personal use).

3 journaling tips to overcome self doubt

(1) Self reflection and sorting through thoughts

Our minds are messy. According to the National Science Foundation we have 12,000 to 60,000 thoughts per day. 80% of these thoughts are negative and 95% are repetitive.

This means that only only 1% of our thoughts are new thoughts and positive.

These 1% of thoughts are where insights, breakthroughs, and epiphanies live. They lead to ideas to move our lives forward, closer to our best potential.

The ideas to invest in education, take a much needed trip, apply to a new job, call your grandma, or even sign up for a gym membership.

Unfortunately, without practice, our minds will not be able to differentiate between the 1% and the remaining repetitive and negative thoughts.

Our mind is like a page full of scribbles. AND we can get lost in thought... rumination.

Fortunately, journaling is a solution to sort out your thoughts. By spending just a few minutes to dump out all your thoughts only a paper, we can begin to visualize and notice what we think. We can turn these scribbles into meaningful insights.

When our thoughts are on paper, we can learn to read them as words, objectively and non-judgmentally.

(2) Identifying and not judging negative thoughts

Our brains are wired to focus on negativity. 4 of every 5 thoughts are negative. Firstly, it is normal to have negative thoughts. However, it is important to not get trapped in negative thought loops. These loops can hold us back from making decisions, cause negative emotions, and even cause physical illness.

Examples of common negative thoughts.

• Self doubt - thoughts that I am not good enough / smart enough / worthy
• Limiting beliefs - thoughts that I cannot succeed or achieve results
• Negative self talk - thoughts where I put myself down (even punish myself)
• Overthinking - thoughts of hypotheticals that lead to worry, uncertainty, and anxiety

By writing down our negative thoughts, we can start to see that they are just thoughts. And when we allow ourselves to belief them, we tend to allow negativity and fear to lead our lives.

We become trapped by our minds.

Here's an example:

Limiting belief: I am bad at writing.

Behavior: I choose not to write because I feel incompetent and do not see value in writing.

Result: I lose out on an opportunity for self-reflection, expression, and creativity.

This is a simple example, and our negative thoughts can hold us back from larger decisions in life. It's ok to have negative thoughts, but how do we use this awareness to overcome the traps of negative thought loops.

(3) Overcoming negativity bias with positivity

By being objective and accepting of our thoughts, we open an opportunity to shift our mindsets. To overcome our negative or limiting beliefs, we need to replace them with affirmative or positive beliefs.

It's like patching holes at the bottom of a leaking bucket. With negativity, we will always feel empty. Like something is missing.

A positive believe is one that helps us get closer towards our potential.

Sample to add on to the above example:

Positive belief: I can find 10 minutes to reflect and journal and learn from the experience.

Result: I would have tried something new and can learn more about myself and take actions towards self-improvement.

Steps for 10 minute journaling exercise:

1. Write as many limiting thoughts down on a page as you can
2. In the second column, define the behaviour + result that follows this thought
3. In the third column write out a positive belief or thought + result that will get you closer to living your potential.

I've been practicing this method of journaling for the last few years and have noticed that I am able to identify my self-doubt and limiting beliefs much more efficiently. Whenever I get caught up in negative thoughts, I find space (sometimes not right away) to reflect and understand the scribbles in my mind.

With practice, we can find more clarity and peace of mind.

I'm grateful to have journaling and writing as a tool to expand my awareness and ability to share my ideas and perspectives with you!

If this article resonated with you, I'm curious what other journal prompts or resources you use! Let me know what those are and if this was useful :)

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