Why do we second-guess ourselves?
3 Ways To Stop Second-Guessing Yourself; “People second-guess themselves because they think there are ‘right’ and ‘wrong’ answers or ways of doing things. Since they believe there is the perfect answer to a problem, they get caught in a conundrum of questioning their decisions and wondering if they chose the ‘right’ course,”
says Jennifer Guttman, a clinical psychologist based in New York City and Westport, CT and author of “A Path to Sustainable Life Satisfaction.”
If anything deserves to kill you, it shouldn’t be you. Second-guessing one’s self in dangerous but apparently a very popular means of self-sabotage.
Can you remember when you realized you have been second-guessing yourself and it started getting you worried?
This blog post focuses on 5 Ways To Stop Second-Guessing Yourself, not for any reason beyond us not wanting you to second guess yourself to death, especially when you’ve not graduated from the University yet! There’s so much life for you to enjoy.
Let’s go! Here are 3 ways to stop second-guessing or, if you prefer, 3 ways to make confident decisions.
Test your decisions against your values
When making a decision amongst many other ones, I advise students to take a step back from the flooding thoughts and ask themselves “Which decision upholds my values, or honours the things that mean so much to me”
The decision that’s most in line with the things that mean the most to you – your core values – will be the best decision for you. That might not be the simplest or most practical, but because it fits with who you are and what’s most important to you it will always be the best decision for you.
Create a list of Pros and Cons
This is a more practical version of the first method, so here’s what you do
Write out the situation on a piece of paper & list out the decisions you have attached to that situation.
Don’t stop there, head on to identifying the Pros & Cons of these decisions and pick your perfect fit!
Always Remember, No One Can See The Future
As a child, I always wanted to be a superhero, and now that I think of it, I won’t mind being able to see the future, accepting the inevitable that the future is unknown eases the pressure of making decisions and second-guessing decisions made. You can see the future and that goes to everyone else on earth. Well except Doctor Strange.
Second-guessing Is the worst thing to do on earth, but for a student still trying to surf through the waters of adult life, it can be a terrible stumble block, but you have to stand by your decisions and values, stay away from people who often undermine your decisions for no reason beyond massaging their ego’s.
Also, don’t forget to practice with small decisions that won’t impact your life,” she says. “Learn to trust yourself more and go with your gut instinct.
Don’t focus on past mistakes where you might have made a poor decision. Realize that most decisions are not irreversible. Nobody is right 100 per cent of the time, and you won’t be either.”
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