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Good day, people of Hive! Welcome to my blog. Today's topic is from Hive-naija, so let's dive in.
Self-doubt is something we all are struggling with. It's that little voice in our head that makes us question ourselves, telling us that we are not good and that we will fail. I remember a time when self-doubt almost made me miss out on a great opportunity. But looking back, I realised how much it held me back, but I also learned a great lesson on overcoming it.
My Fear of Public Speaking
I have been having this fear of public speaking since I was little; back then, in secondary school, if my teachers choose me to be among those who would be talking or doing a debate in front of our remaining students, I always looked for a way to never participate. If it's for me to pretend I am having stomach pain or a headache, then I will do it just because of the fear of facing a crowd and having this self-doubt about me. So, as I enter university, I don't have a choice but to face the crowd because if I don't, then I'm playing with my mark. I can still remember during my first year, my lecturer grouped us, and each group contained fifteen (15) students, and we were grouped according to our matric number, and he gave us a topic to do research on and gave us a date when we were going to present it.
In my group after contributing money for the photocopy because all of us must have each copy, including our lecturer, so I was praying that my group leader wouldn't mention me that I would be among those who would present that day, but unfortunately I was called, and I began thinking of all the things that could go wrong during the presentation:
What if I forgot my words?
What if I sound stupid?
What if people laugh at me? because I have this fear of stammering while facing the crowd.
The more I thought about it, the more scared I became to the extent that I pleaded to our group leader that he could replace me with someone else, that I couldn't do the presentation. He asked me why, and I told him that I had the fear of facing a crowd, and then he said something that changed my mindset, he said: "You have to face your fear, and everyone that I see in the class behaving bold are as nervous as you(me), No one is expecting you to be perfect. Just focus on saying what you want to say that day of the presentation and then leave". That made me pause and think, then I realised that I had been worrying too much about others instead of focusing on just doing my best that day.
What Helped Me Overcome My Fear
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Since I made up my mind that I won't run away from my fear, I decided to try some things to help me.
(1) I practice by writing down what I want to say and even practice in front of the mirror, my brother and roommate. The more I practiced, the less scared I felt.
(2) Instead of me thinking negatively of myself, I started telling myself, "I can do this." Though it might sound simple, it helped me feel more confident.
(3) On the day of the presentation, I started shivering, and my hands were shaking. But instead of letting my fear take over me, I took a deep breath and reminded myself, Oluwatosin, you are prepared with the presentation.
(4) Then I remembered that I am only to share my ideas on the topic, not to impress my fellow students or anyone. So I stop the negative thought inside my mind.
What Happened In The End
When it was my turn to deliver my ideas, I was still nervous. But I took a deep breath and calmed myself down and started speaking. While speaking, I made some mistake, and I was expecting my coursemates to burst into laughter because they are fond of making gist on people, but to my surprise, no one laughed at me. In fact, when I finished, some of them said I really tried, and I was overwhelmed.
After that experience, I became more confident in speaking. Though I still get nervous sometimes, I know that with the help of preparation, positive thinking, and ensuring I focus on what I want to say rather than thinking negatively, I can help myself overcome self-doubt.
In conclusion, self-doubt is so powerful, but it only has as much control as we allow it. So by practicing, preparing, and changing our mindset, we can break free from the chains of self-doubt and achieve a lot of things we thought were impossible.
This is my entry for Hive Naija Weekly Prompts Edition 83.
Thanks for reading💞💞💞💞💞.