You Can Teach Yourself to Turn Down Your Self-Doubt

One would think that Meryl Streep would be free from self-doubt, as she alone has the distinct advantage of, you know, being Meryl Streep. Yet the actress has said that she struggles with insecurity. “I say to myself, ‘I don’t know how to act — and why does anybody want to look at me onscreen anymore?’” she once told O: The Oprah Magazine.

Whether it’s comforting or concerning that even a talented and successful Hollywood star is still sometimes plagued by self-doubt is a matter of opinion. Fortunately, in recent years, psychologists have found an effective way to reframe those negative thoughts about yourself, as writer Elizabeth Bernstein notes this week in The Wall Street Journal. It’s called cognitive reappraisal, and it essentially means changing the way you think about your own thoughts.

Click here for full article.