A Journey Of Self Discovery And Growth

By Doug Hensley

We all face obstacles on the winding road to fulfillment and joy. Self-doubt, anxiety, disappointment and adversity arise in every life. Yet with courage, wisdom and compassion, we can overcome challenges while walking the path to self-discovery.

This empowering guide provides 20 essential life lessons to help you foster unshak

• Language: English
• Publisher: Ingram Spark
• Release date: Sep 18, 2023
• ISBN: 9781088011560

Book preview

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Chapter 7: Manage Self-Doubt

Developing self-trust allows you to act decisively, take initiative, and fully own your decisions. People with high self-trust are able to clearly see their own strengths and weaknesses, pursue challenging goals, and bounce back from setbacks. Trusting yourself means you rely on your own judgment rather than constantly needing validation or reassurance from others.

Self-trust is built through an honest selfassessment of your core values, desires, and abilities. It develops by quieting the negative self-talk we all experience from time to time. With strengthened self-trust, you gain the courage to take risks, vulnerability to admit mistakes, and resilience to overcome challenges. This book will guide you through

those with a growth mindset maintain optimism and persist.

By seeing problems as fluid rather than fixed, we stay motivated to change course, adapt, and develop new strategies. Challenges provide valuable feedback and lessons that allow us to expand our skills. The growth mindset empowers us to trust in our capacity to learn and improve.

Applying the Growth Mindset:

View challenges as opportunities to learn, not threats of failure

Replace the phrase I can’t do this with I can’t do this yet

Praise efforts and processes, not just outcomes

Avoid comparing yourself to others

Focus on improvement, not perfection

Acknowledge failures and seek constructive lessons from them With this mindset shift from fixed to growth, we can build our competence, resilience, and trust in ourselves. This book will provide concrete strategies and tools to put the growth mindset into practice. Self-trust develops when we give ourselves permission to fail, view struggles as learning experiences, and believe in our ability to continuously expand our skills through effort. The Risks of Low Self-Trust

What are the consequences when we lack trust in ourselves and our abilities? A deficit of self-trust often leads to:

Paralysis. We fail to take action or seize opportunities due to fear, indecisiveness, or pessimism about potential outcomes.

People-pleasing. We shape our choices to win the approval of others rather than acting on our own desires and judgment.

Perfectionism. We put off action

to please others. It feels impossible to make clear decisions or commit.

Mental health struggles. Lack of self-trust contributes to anxiety, depression, loneliness, and low self-esteem. We feel stuck, hopeless, and incapable.

Do any of these traps sound familiar? Most people occasionally grapple with such struggles. The solution lies in cultivating strong self-trust through mindset shifts, self-discovery, and adopting practices that quiet self-doubt. This builds conviction in your own abilities.

The Rewards of High Self-Trust What is possible when we develop firm trust in ourselves? With high self-trust, we gain:

Courage. We are willing to take risks and expose ourselves to potential failure or rejection.

forward.

Self-esteem. Our sense of selfworth comes from within, not from others’ validation. We gain freedom over needing approval.

Self-direction. Our choices align with our own desires and values, not just others’ expectations. We know ourselves deeply.

Flow. When we trust our abilities, we can immerse ourselves fully in activities and experiences. We enjoy being challenged.

Cultivating strong self-trust allows you to live with clarity, confidence, resilience, and purpose. Without needing to appease others or meet rigid expectations, you are free to define success on your own terms. Trusting yourself opens the door to reaching your full potential.

This book provides the mindset, skills, and tools to quiet your inner critic,

make choices fitting your nature. This strengthens self-trust by avoiding situations that drain your energy. Know yourself by identifying whether you lean extroverted or introverted, structured or spontaneous, thinking or feeling, go with the flow or assert your agenda. Make choices honoring your nature.

Clarifying Your Values and Priorities In addition to inherent personality traits, your values and priorities are key components of self-knowledge. Values are your guiding principles for life that indicate what really matters to you. They determine how you spend your time and energy. Values inspire you at a deeper level than surface desires or interests.

Common core values include:

Achievement – pursuing success, mastery and high standards

Adventurousness – seeking

and equality

Love – intimacy, affection and belongingness in relationships

Loyalty – allegiance to friends, groups and causes

Meaning – purposeful contribution to society

Relationships – deep connections with others

Security – safety, stability and freedom from worry

Spirituality – inner peace and connection to something larger than oneself

Success – achievement, respect and external validation

Variety – novelty, challenges and diverse experiences

Take time to deeply reflect on which values resonate most. Eliminate any copied from others without personal meaning. Prioritize your top five core values. What principles bring you joy

abilities is crucial for self-trust. What are your strengths and talents? Which skills come naturally versus requiring more effort? Where do you add value? What do you do well versus areas for improvement? Assessing your competencies allows you to play to your strengths and manage your weaknesses. Make a T-chart with columns listing your strengths on one side and growth areas on the other. Identify around 5-10 items in each column. Look at key categories like:

Knowledge - what subject areas do you have expertise in? Where are you still learning?

Hard skills - what specialized skills and abilities have you developed? Which need enhancing?

Soft skills - what interpersonal skills are you gifted at versus still cultivating?

Cognitive abilities - what comes easily: analysis, creativity, organization, writing, public speaking? What is hard?

Personality traits - what innate strengths flow from your personality? Which traits pose challenges?

Emotional intelligence - what EQ abilities like empathy or relationship management are strengths or weaknesses?

Values - when you act on your core values, what excellence flows naturally?

To identify your strengths, reflect on what activities energize you, when you feel in flow, the feedback others give, and your proudest accomplishments. Growth areas are skills not critical to your goals right now. But beware of blindspots – ask others what abilities you underestimate.

habits and tendencies are shaping forces. Habits are routines you follow with little conscious thought, like checking your phone first thing in the morning or hitting snooze multiple times. Tendencies describe inclinations like the sports you gravitate toward or your preferred reading genres. Start by listing your daily and weekly habits. Which empower versus undermine you? For example, frequent exercise fuels productivity while late nights of social media drain energy. Also examine habits around:

Communication - Are you concise or descriptive, listen more than talk, make small talk or prefer meaningful dialogue?

Leadership - Do you take charge or avoid spotlight? Prefer tight or loose organization?

Work style - Are you focused or easily distracted? Thrive on