Learning to trust yourself

If you struggle with trusting yourself, you’re not alone. We’ve all made mistakes or failed at something, and if we focus on those mistakes or failures, it can cloud our judgment and prevent us from taking chances or putting ourselves out there in the future. Learning how to trust ourselves also gets harder when we engage in negative self-talk and lack confidence in our skills, knowledge, or decision-making ability.

Having trust in yourself goes hand in hand with believing in yourself. It starts with honoring and accepting the person you are, including recognizing your strengths and weaknesses and what makes you uniquely you. If you honor who you are, you are better able to show up in the world as a strong, confident person who truly believes they are capable of achieving their goals and dreams.

If you’re ready to finally understand how to “trust your gut” and believe in yourself, you’ve come to the right place!

10 tips on how to start believing in yourself:

1. Claim agency over and be more conscious of your choices.

It all starts with you – you have the power to make your own decisions, set your own boundaries, and engage in behaviors and with people of your choosing. You are also one of a kind and should embrace your bio-individuality, the IIN concept that you have a unique set of needs that can change over the course of a lifetime. Simply acknowledging these truths will help you be more conscious of anything you say, do, or think. Pay attention to how you feel when you claim power over how you think and act; it probably feels empowering and boosts confidence!

2. Identify your limiting beliefs.

Limiting beliefs are beliefs you have about yourself that hold you back in some way. These limiting beliefs often manifest in anxiety or self-doubt, and they can prevent you from learning and growing as a person. By first identifying what your limiting beliefs are, you can choose to replace them with more empowering and constructive beliefs.

An example would be transforming a limiting belief of “I’m incapable of reaching my health goals because I’ve failed at reaching those goals before” to “I’m capable of reaching my health goals because I have learned the skills I need to keep myself on track in the future.”

3. Practice the law of attraction.

The law of attraction is the idea that whatever you constantly think and thus put out into the world, you will manifest and experience. This not only applies to your thoughts and behaviors but also the people around you. If you surround yourself with inspiring, empathetic, and successful people, you’re more likely to exude those qualities yourself and learn to build self-confidence and trust in yourself.

This also goes for people looking to improve their health – if you surround yourself with people who share the same outlook on health and well-being, you’ll feel more supported on your health journey as you can engage in dialogue around health topics that are important to you and eventually be able to hold the belief that you can achieve your health goals.

4. Set S.M.A.R.T. goals for yourself.

Setting S.M.A.R.T. goals – specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound – is key for facing challenges, building confidence, and believing in yourself. The reason for setting goals in this way is because it breaks down large goals into smaller, more actionable items, allowing you to track your progress and celebrate milestones. If you can look back and acknowledge your progress and achievements, you’ll be better able to face the next step in reaching your ultimate goal. Whether your goal is to write a book or lose weight, S.M.A.R.T. goals are a great way to set yourself up for success.

5. Engage in new activities with a positive attitude.

While you should approach everything you do with a positive attitude, it’s especially important when facing new activities and challenges. You may be fearful or nervous when it comes to doing something new, such as learning a new language or beginning an exercise program, but maintaining a positive attitude will allow you to keep an open mind and encourage the belief that you are capable of accomplishing your goals.

6. Let yourself be uncomfortable.

Staying in your comfort zone holds you back from taking risks and exploring new opportunities. It also prevents you from challenging yourself, which helps build self-confidence and a belief in yourself. Accepting that you will sometimes be uncomfortable is important in your journey toward believing in yourself. How will you ever know if you’re capable of success if you never take the leap and try something new?

Taking control of your health by making diet and lifestyle changes can be uncomfortable as you navigate what foods and physical activities work best for you. But the rewards of making such changes are worth the potential struggle or stress you may experience along the way and will demonstrate just how determined and capable you are in reaching your goals. 

7. Talk to yourself, kindly.

Chances are your self-talk is negative as we tend to beat ourselves up for not doing things right or failing at something. Can you imagine if you said those same words to someone else? If your friend was feeling disappointed because they failed a class or didn’t get the job they wanted, you would be compassionate, kind, understanding, and maybe even inspirational. The goal is for your own self-talk to sound like you’re trying to encourage your friend, not put them down.

You can challenge your negative self-talk by reciting affirmations, such as “I am worthy,” “I am capable,” or “I attract positivity and light.” This is where being more conscious of your thoughts comes into play; you can control how you talk to yourself and catch when you are being too negative. The more you practice positive self-talk, the more you will believe in yourself and that those things are true. This confidence-building tool is an important element of health coaching as it helps foster a positive attitude toward making diet and lifestyle changes that might be new or stressful but yield incredible results.

8. Accept that you will make mistakes.

Making mistakes is what makes you human, and the only way to move forward is to allow yourself to move forward. It’s easy to stay in your comfort zone so you never make a mistake again, but what experiences or opportunities do you miss out on by doing so? Making mistakes gives you the chance to learn from them, which better prepares you for situations when you can use what you learned to settle a dispute, solve a problem, or advance further in your knowledge or skill set. As you learn, you grow, and believing in yourself happens in tandem with this growth.

9. Sustain healthy habits.

Taking care of your body and mind by implementing sustainable diet and lifestyle habits helps you learn how to listen to your gut and trust your instincts. As a bio-individual, there are foods that leave you feeling nourished and energized as well as sluggish and depleted. Your journey to finding which foods make you feel your best helps you learn to listen to what your body needs and craves; this is an incredible tool to tap into when building confidence! By sustaining healthy habits in all areas of your life, you become better at trusting what you think and feel.

10. Keep moving forward with an open mind.

Just as you will have good days and bad days, your confidence and belief in yourself will also fluctuate. It’s important to remember how far you’ve come in learning how to embrace your unique qualities, challenge yourself, and experience success. You are more resilient than you think, and you absolutely have the tools to tackle any obstacle that comes your way and reach your full potential. 

Health Coaches play a major role in guiding clients to realize their potential to reach their goals around improving their health and well-being. In a safe, supportive space for their clients to explore the many areas of their well-being, Health Coaches foster a positive environment for them to truly believe in themselves and achieve their biggest, most desired goals. Learn how you can make a difference in someone’s life today by downloading our free Curriculum Guide.