When those moments of self-doubt creep in, the best way to squash those negative voices or silence your inner critic is to turn to positive self-talk.
But after all, you are not some robot that’s preprogrammed to tune into the affirmation channel on repeat. You are a human being – and trying to ignite the flame of positive self-talk can be incredibly difficult when experiencing the tortures of self-doubting.
It’s also true that as a human being, you tend to be your own worst enemy. A person’s greatest limitations is not what they can’t do, it’s what they believe they can’t do.
We are surrounded by continuous opportunities for moments of self-doubt to take over. Whether it’s from social media, past experiences or fear, negative thoughts can hop in the driver’s seat and spread like wildfire.
As you fan the flames of your lack of confidence this alone serves as the greatest enemy of any new, good habit you wish to cultivate. Even worse, stewing in those negative thoughts and allowing yourself to spend so much time on them not only perpetuates the feelings of self-doubt and breeds low self-esteem, but it all adds up to a poor state of overall well-being. Your mental health suffers, and it can bring misery that affects your relationships with friends and family members, your work, your finances and much more.
The essential ingredient to turn the tables on any feelings of self-doubt is not to strive to achieve some non-existent level of perfect confidence. The essential ingredient to achieve greater confidence and overcome your self-doubt is you and your own abilities to believe in yourself. It can be hard work to break the cycle and beat back the doubts of today but being intentional about recognizing your own potential is a great way to start.
No one cultivates a mastery of self-doubt overnight. It takes time, intentionality, and practice to develop a more confident mindset. One where you accept failure is a part of the process but staying stuck in the tortures of self-doubting is worse. Some of the most successful people in the world agree!
One of the great things about reading through motivational quotes or inspirational quotes is that it’s quick and easy. If you are having trouble not knowing how to start building your own confidence, reading a quote can be a great way to begin your day or act as a little dose of courage before you take a leap.
Quotes also let us peek behind the curtains and into the mindsets of some of the most successful people in the world.
Here are 50 of my favorite quotes to help overcome self-doubt and inspire confidence:
- “Nothing has meaning except for the meaning you give it.” – T. Harv Eker
- “Our doubts are traitors and cause us to miss the good we oft might win, by fearing to attempt.” – William Shakespeare
- “The worst enemy to creativity is self-doubt.” – Sylvia Plath
- “You have to expect things of yourself before you can do them.” – Michael Jordan
- “If you hear a voice within you saying you cannot paint, then by all means paint, and that voice will be silenced.” – Vincent Van Gogh
- “Do the thing and you will have the power.” – Ralph Waldo Emerson
- “Why not you?” – Steve Maraboli
- “You wouldn’t worry so much about what others think of you if you realized how seldom they do.” – Eleanor Roosevelt
- “If the sun comes up, I have a chance.” – Venus Williams
- “Step out of the history that is holding you back. Step in to the new story you are willing to create.” – Oprah Winfrey
- “Doubt kills more dreams than failure ever will.” – Suzy Kassem
- “I want to see if I can. I don’t know if I can. I want to find out. I want to see. I’m going to do what I always do: I’m going to break it down to its smallest form, smallest detail and go after it. Day by day, one day at a time.” – Kobe Bryant
- “Whether you think you can, or you think you can’t – you’re right.” – Henry Ford
- “Don’t be pushed around by the fears in your mind. Be led by the dreams in your heart.” – Roy T. Bennett
- “Do not let what you cannot do interfere with what you can.” – John Wooden
- “We all have our limitations but when we listen to our critics, we also have theirs.” – Robert Breault
- “Instead of worrying about what you cannot control, shift your energy to what you can create.” – Roy T. Bennett
- “Take back your power! I wish you the wisdom to realize that the problem isn’t that they keep lying to you; it’s that you keep believing them.” – Steve Maraboli
- “You are what you believe yourself to be.” – Paul Coelho
- “The way to develop self-confidence is to do the thing you fear and get a record of successful experiences behind you.” – William Jennings Bryan
- “Don’t push your weaknesses. Play with your strengths.” – Jennifer Lopez
- “Self-trust is the first secret of success.” – Ralph Waldo Emerson
- “Our happiness depends on the habit of mind we cultivate.” – Norman Vincent Peale
- “When in doubt, doubt the doubt!” – Deepak Chopra
- “No one can make you feel inferior without your consent.” – Eleanor Roosevelt
- “The whole problem with the world is that fools and fanatics are always so certain of themselves, and wiser people so full of doubts.” – Bertrand Russell
- “Where attention goes, energy flows, and results show.” – T. Harv Eker
- “Some people are walking around with full use of their bodies and they’re more paralyzed than I am.” – Christopher Reeve
- “Change your thoughts and you change your world.” – Norman Vincent Peale
- “We do not have to become heroes overnight. Just a step at a time, meeting each thing that comes up, seeing it not as dreadful as it appears, discovering that we have the strength to stare it down.” – Eleanor Roosevelt
- “There is only one thing that makes a dream impossible to achieve: the fear of failure.” – Paul Coelho
- “Go out and do something. It isn’t your room that’s a prison, it’s yourself.” – Sylvia Plath
- “Do not be awe struck by other people and try to copy them. Nobody can be you as efficiently as you.” – Norman Vincent Peale
- “You might not write well every day, but you can always edit a bad page. You can’t edit a blank page.” – Jodi Picoult
- “Doubts and mistrust are the mere panic of timid imagination, which the steadfast heart will conquer, and the large mindset transcend.” – Helen Keller
- “Stand up straight and realize who you are, that you tower over your circumstances.” – Maya Angelou
- “Don’t put a limit on what can be accomplished.” – Christopher Reeve
- “You have to remember the value of your individuality – that you have something special and different to offer that no one else can.” – Jennifer Lopez
- “Focus more on your desire than your doubt, and the dream will take care of itself.” – Mark Twain
- “Never say never because limits like fears are often just an illusion.” – Michael Jordan
- “Be confident, not certain.” – Eleanor Roosevelt
- “First ask yourself: What is the worst that can happen. Then prepare to accept it. Then proceed to improve on the worst.” – Dale Carnegie
- “Courage is resistance to fear, mastery of fear, not absence of fear.” – Mark Twain
- “Trust yourself – you know more than you think you do.” – Benjamin Spock
- “Success is most often achieved by those who don’t know that failure is inevitable.” – Coco Chanel
- “You have no control over other people’s taste, so focus on staying true to your own.” – Tim Gunn
- “If you want to move to a new level in your life, you must break through your comfort zone and practice doing things that are not comfortable.” – T. Harv Eker
- “Failure is acceptable but not trying is a whole different ballpark.” – Michael Jordan
- “Nurture your mind with great thoughts for you will never go any higher than you think.” – Benjamin Disraeli
- “Successful people have fear, successful people have doubts, and successful people have worries. They just don’t let these feelings stop them.” – T. Harv Eker
Do you have a favorite self-doubt quote that inspires your confidence? Pick one (or a few!) and make them easily accessible! Copy confidence quotes into the Notes app on your phone, print them out and hang them up in your office or on the fridge, keep them in the console in your car or, even better, use them as journal prompts in your journal!