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9 reasons why  you are underestimating yourself (and how to stop it)

Do you underestimate yourself and your capabilities whenever you face a stressful situation? Do you shy away from an opportunity coming your way and hesitate in accepting stressful and challenging tasks? Then you should read this article. If you are not sure, then take this Test before you read on to know the reasons why you are underestimating yourself.

1. You are afraid of criticism :

It is said that the world is swayed by only two things- hunger and love. I say PRAISE is a term which encompasses both. Our hunger and love for praise and admiration work as a fuel to thrive.

Moreover, the same desire often hinders us from showing our own abilities to others, because we are afraid of criticism. What if someone doesn’t like it? What if someone laughs at me? What if …?

And so we showcase only those talents and skills which we have always shown to the world, for which we have always got lots of accolades and praise.

Why criticism is good?

The trouble with most of us is that we would rather be ruined by praise than saved by criticism.

                                                                           -Norman Vincent Peale

Accepting criticism is the most difficult task. Don’t take unfair criticism personally but pay heed to constructive criticism. Take it as an opportunity to learn something, to re-think and reform your methods where needed.

2. you start comparing yourself with others :

In the present scenario of social media-influenced world, It’s natural to be intimidated by someone’s achievements and happy life. That is an important reason why you are underestimating yourself. But before comparing yourself with them have you tried to know about their struggles?

You might be comparing your beginning with other’s middle. It is okay if someone is more intelligent, capable and good looking than you or if he has better socializing skills than you have.

There’ll always be someone who will have more qualification and wealth than you. You can find many who are better than them. Similarly, there are many who look up to you. Everyone has at least, one such unique quality which puts him above the rest. Explore yours because you are stronger than you think.

Who is your real competitor?

A flower does not think of competing with the flower next to it. It just blooms.

-Zen Shin

Remember your competition is not with anyone outside. Your real competition is with your inner critic which pushes you towards the Erabus of despair, with your over logical mind which puzzles you with unnecessary reasonings, with your coward heart which staggers and pulls you back.

You may like : Why you should listen to your subconscious mind

3. You lack faith in yourself :

When you do not have confidence in your own capabilities, you will start underestimating yourself. You are afraid to put your opinions in front of others. Few failures in life too can make a person unconfident.

Failure is so intimidating that you start looking at your own deservings with suspicious eyes.

How should you think?

Visualize your life the way you want it to be and whenever your inner critic raises doubt, counter it by questioning ‘why can’t I do it?’. Come out of your discomfort, take action.

Failure and success are relative terms. One can fail at some tasks in spite of keeping stock of his past successes. Similarly, your success may come after a series of failures.So, never underestimate your abilities.

4. You are taught to be humble :

Most of us are brought up in such a way so as to not boast about ourselves and to keep a modest attitude towards our own achievements and skills. Even if you are superior to others in a particular arena, you don’t show it just because you are taught not to make anyone feel less than you. That is why you never celebrate your talents or your proud moments.

You don’t want to overshadow them and the result is, people never get to know about your virtues and accomplishments.

What is the solution?

By constantly making yourself feel small and others big, you become indecisive and that could be the reason why you are underestimating yourself. Therefore everything should be balanced in our life.

Humility should not become your weakness. It is important to feel good on and talk about your abilities and accomplishments, not to show off but to inspire many who hesitate to come out of their shells.

5. It is easier to accept than to prove :

It’s a harsh fact but It is easier to say ‘I can’t do it’ and excuse yourself than to fight tooth and nail on getting the thing done.

Success is not easy. It takes a lot of courage, hard work, discipline and time management to get what you have aimed for. People who can’t adopt these for their progress will always have an easy escape from doing hard work and then the same people will blame the circumstances for their incompetence.

How to change your outlook?

Excuse and blame are twins. By sticking to the old beliefs and old habits of yours, you are underestimating yourself without trying.

The cycle of making mistakes, learning from it, practicing hard and beginning again continues so long as the life goes. Getting out of it, is like losing the essence of life.

why-you-are-underestimating-yourself

6. You see yourself from others’ spectacles:

People tend to see their own virtues in reflection of others’ perspective. If others say you are doing good, you accept it. If they say this is not good for you, you will avoid doing it without a second thought.

Since childhood we are taught to follow someone, to become like someone. Gradually this pressure is so build up that you seek someone else’s assurance to feel confident and to do simplest of your work.

Why your perspective counts?

Once your thoughts and beliefs are not your own, you will always put others’ opinions and expectations first. Don’t let anyone thrust his opinion on you.

You don’t need someone to tell you what you are. You only need someone to accept what you are.

The moment you will dedicate yourself to the sole purpose of making your own genius-self better than what it was the day before, the world will be yours.

7. The goal you set is too big :

Have you ever thought why most of the new year resolutions fail? Because we set unachievable goals in excitement. Bigger goals mean larger belief system and that is the point where our mind is not in our control.

When you set a big goal, you generally get depressed because you are looking at the outcome which is distant and forget to enjoy the process.

How smaller steps can help?

Before setting any goal analyse your strengths and weaknesses. It is always advised to ‘look before you leap.’ It is better to set smaller but concrete goals, which will not only help you in getting your bigger goal but also build up your confidence.

The collection of small successes will work as confidence booster to achieve bigger and massive goals.

8. You magnify your flaws :

What you ask is what you get in life. If you are always counting your flaws and focus on your incapabilities then it is sure to get magnified.

There are many knaves around, waiting for the opportunity to bruise your confidence and to make you feel incompetent. They know your weakness. Your weakness lies in your own thought pattern which manipulates and magnifies your flaws.

All sorts of under and over-estimations are created in our mind.

How to come over this weakness?

Your flaws and mistakes are proofs that you have tried and are guide to better yourself.

If you concentrate on your worth, the reasons to be happy, your strength, your support and above all the gratitude for the countless blessings from the One above us, your thought process will rejuvenate and you will recognize your own worth.

9. Others underestimate you :

When others underestimate you and your abilities, the most annoying part is that you find yourself in a position where you always have to prove your worth.

There could be many reasons why people underestimate you. Either they are misinformed or ignorant. They might be jealous of your talent or your lack of experience has been looked as lack of ability.

Is there anything you can do?

You can do nothing, except keeping faith in yourself, not losing confidence, keep dreaming, keep trying.

One more thing you can do. Thank those who underestimate you because when people underestimate you, you feel a hidden urge in you to prove they are wrong. Focus on your goals and show your worth through your actions.

Do you think you underestimate yourself? Do you relate with any of these reasons? Here is an infographic for the quick recap of 9 reasons why you are underestimating yourself.

why-you-are-underestimating-yourself

I would love to hear your comments. Until then remember..

Never underestimate yourself,

Priyanka

23 thoughts on “9 reasons why  you are underestimating yourself (and how to stop it)”

  1. Omgosh, this is so true!! I needed this motivation. I’ve always wanted to be an influencer, no joke, but I do not have any confidence to do it because of my low self-esteem and what people will think of me since they think being an influencer is a joke, but I’m currently slowly trying to prove them wrong and do what ever makes me happy!

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  2. Underestimating yourself can cause anxiety or stress, and it may prevent you from trying something new. However, working through self-doubt can help increase your confidence and help you achieve your goals.

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  3. I can see so much of these in me, I do avoid criticism as much as I know it is good for me. Also I am so humble that I rather be quiet than confront, guess I need to change that.

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  4. Being taught to be humble does make it hard indeed. Also, it’s always easier to set the bar pretty low so that when you fail, not much disappointment. Lacking faith in yourself probably goes back to being taught to being humble. But I agree that If you tell yourself you can, then you can!

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  5. Really great tips on how to instill more self confidence. I struggle on the humility part. I really dont ever feel that comfortable talking about my accomplishments. I love supporting others and am proud of my success but talking about them doesnt come smoothly.

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  6. I think I need to remember to break my goals down into more individual things that I can do. That way it’s not so overwhelming. I think in general, all of these resonate with me a bit.

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  7. This is just spot on! Being taught humility all my life is quite different. I always fear being perceived as preachy and full of myself so I just dull my own shine. I always to fit in when I know I can do so much more. The next time I doubt myself, I will practice having more faith in me and what i can do. 🙂

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  8. These are all true. It’s so easy to compare ourselves to others these days. We have all these social media platforms and people only show the best of themselves. We have to remember that people are not always together as they seem in photos. Sometimes you have to take a break from social media or unfollow people that don’t bring you joy. Thanks for sharing.

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