Confidence

So during the last few weeks I have been feeling a bit low in my confidence levels. I started having thoughts of what I actually wanted to get out of doing YouTube videos and blogging and I started to tell myself that I wasn’t really good at either of them – simply because I wasn’t being ‘up beat’ or ‘smiley’ enough. I wasn’t being confident enough. I wasn’t being confident in myself.

I felt like giving up sometimes because my voice just seemed so small compared to other big Youtubers and Bloggers, I just looked like I didn’t really belong there, like I didn’t really know what I was doing or why I was putting myself out there for everyone to judge me. And of course after a few weeks of having these thoughts, I started to believe them. I don’t really know what caused this low, or how on earth to get out of it. So I decided to pick myself back up some how because I didn’t like the way I was making myself feel all the time. Someone once told me that the only person stopping me from feeling better about myself, is myself. And that the only way to get out of the negative feelings is to change all of the negative thoughts into positive ones, which will turn into positive feelings.  I decided to give that a try – telling myself that my voice was worth listening to but, well let’s say it made me feel like a fool. I convinced myself that I was only kidding myself and that no one will actually ever take you seriously.

But then I realized, well how could they? How could anyone possibly take me seriously if I don’t myself? That was the problem. I needed to truly believe in myself. And accept that, yes, I will be small and irrelevant at first. Wasn’t everyone at one point? Everyone had to have started somewhere. All I needed to do is take that first step. I can’t just expect to be an expert on the first day, or on the second day, or the next few after that. In fact, for some people it took them years to get where they are today. I just need to understand what my goal is and accept that it’s going to take a lot of effort and hard work to get there. But I will, inshallah. I will get there, but only if I commit now.

My point is, don’t lose faith in yourself too early. You’ll just end up regretting all of the chances you could have taken and all of the experiences you could have had if you had just held on a little tighter. Be aware of the struggle, and embrace it with open arms. Be confident in yourself and know that everyone’s voice is worth hearing, you just have to speak with your heart in your mouth. I know that sounds cheesy but seriously, no one will listen if you don’t listen to yourself first. Be true and honest and most importantly, be understanding.

And just to recap the things I did to pick myself back up:

• Always remind yourself why you’re doing what you are doing, why you first started something.
• Be prepared – plan out what you want to achieve and how you are going to achieve it.
• Just do it. The first step is always the hardest.
• Ask Allah for help. Never be afraid to. But also put in the effort yourself. Allah won’t help you unless you help yourself too.

So I hope you found this useful and I hope you’ve learnt something new – stay smiling honeys 🙂