{"id":28789,"date":"2014-12-02T21:45:20","date_gmt":"2014-12-03T05:45:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.pickthebrain.com\/?p=28789"},"modified":"2014-12-05T20:59:05","modified_gmt":"2014-12-06T04:59:05","slug":"insecurity-good-thing","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.pickthebrain.com\/blog\/insecurity-good-thing\/","title":{"rendered":"Why Insecurity Is A Good Thing"},"content":{"rendered":"<div style=\"margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px;\" class=\"sharethis-inline-share-buttons\" ><\/div><p>In our modern self-help-infused culture, we treat insecurity like the archenemy.<\/p>\n<p>Everyone seems to be in agreement that it\u2019s not only un-evolved or distasteful to feel insecure, but that insecurity itself is hindering us from happiness, love, and success.<\/p>\n<p>But is it really?<\/p>\n<h2>Here\u2019s why insecurity is a good thing in disguise:<\/h2>\n<p><strong>Insecurity is a call to action.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>It\u2019s your mind saying HELP! I need more skills!<\/p>\n<p>The skills that insecurity prompts you to develop are either internal skills like accepting yourself, or external skills like developing an expertise.<\/p>\n<p>If you had all the internal and external skills you needed &#8211; including the skill of contentment &#8211; then you wouldn\u2019t feel insecure.<\/p>\n<p>Think back to your school days and when you used to take tests.<\/p>\n<p>When you had prepared really well for a test, were you insecure when you sat down to take it? No, of course not. You were self-assured and confident because you knew you were going to rock it.<\/p>\n<p>What about a test you did NOT prepare for? Yeah, sweating nervously and an upset stomach.<\/p>\n<p>You didn\u2019t feel insecure because you were somehow a bad person or \u201cunworthy of success\u201d. You felt insecure because you were unprepared for the task at hand. That\u2019s where insecurity comes from: a lack of skill or preparedness.<\/p>\n<h2>Insecurity is nothing more than an indication that you need to build one of these three skills:<\/h2>\n<p><strong>1. The skill of self-love.<\/strong><br \/>\n<em>Developing self-love is like quelling test anxiety.<\/em><\/p>\n<p>Sometimes that\u2019s it, that\u2019s all you need. Self-love is the foundation for all other skill-building. Without it, things are much more difficult than they need to be.<\/p>\n<p>This way, you\u2019re no longer anxious about your inherent treat-taking ability. You can get better at self-love by accurately seeing the whole situation for what it is: an opportunity to build skills. It puts your mind at rest so it can focus on productive things instead of collapsing in a heap of false-alarm insecurities.<\/p>\n<p><strong>2. The skill of discernment.<\/strong><br \/>\n<em>Developing discernment is like showing up for the right test.<\/em><\/p>\n<p>Sometimes you\u2019re feeling insecure because you are in a situation you\u2019re not ready for. You\u2019re pushing yourself too hard, too fast, and you\u2019re going too many steps ahead.<\/p>\n<p>For example, if you\u2019ve only just learned your multiplication tables and you roll into a calculus test, you\u2019re going to feel intimidated because there\u2019s no earthly way.<\/p>\n<p>You can get better at discernment by objectively assessing where you are in relation to what you want. Once you have a lay of the land, then the emotional charge is gone. You can go about understanding the sequenced outline that will get you where you want to be faster.<\/p>\n<p><strong>3. The skill for the task at hand.<\/strong><br \/>\n<em>Developing specific expertise is like studying well for the test in front of you.<\/em><\/p>\n<p>Sometimes you already have a lot of self-love and great discernment. At that point, the only thing that could possibly be missing is straightforward action-taking and patient skill-building for the task at hand.<\/p>\n<p>When you study, you\u2019re more prepared, and therefore more confident. You don\u2019t see success as a measure of your self-worth; that would be silly. You see it as an accurate assessment of how well you prepared and integrated the material.<\/p>\n<p>Life rarely appears as straightforward as a test in school, but if you consider it as an analogy, the world becomes much simpler. Insecurity becomes a tool to enhance your life, rather than a foggy hindrance. With that kind of approach, you can\u2019t help but become successful in good time.<\/p>\n<p><em>Sarah Jones is the founder of <a title=\"Introverted Alpha\" href=\"http:\/\/introvertedalpha.com\">Introverted Alpha<\/a>, where she helps smart introverted men attract women naturally. Download your free Core Confidence Training and free 60-page eBook, &#8220;Why Pick-Up Doesn&#8217;t Work For Introverts &amp; What Works Instead&#8221; at <a title=\"Introverted Alpha\" href=\"http:\/\/introvertedalpha.com\">IntrovertedAlpha.com<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>In our modern self-help-infused culture, we treat insecurity like the archenemy.<\/p>\n<p>Everyone seems to be in agreement that it\u2019s not only un-evolved or distasteful to feel insecure, but that insecurity itself is hindering us from happiness, love, and success. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.pickthebrain.com\/blog\/insecurity-good-thing\/\">Continue reading <span class=\"meta-nav\">&rarr;<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":12163,"featured_media":28796,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0},"categories":[112,6,31],"tags":[3910,3231,1546,66,4629],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v19.1 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Why Insecurity Is A Good Thing<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"While most people think insecurity is the enemy, the truth is insecurity is a good thing. 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Find out how it can help you become happier and more successful.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.pickthebrain.com\/blog\/insecurity-good-thing\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Pick the Brain | Motivation and Self Improvement\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"http:\/\/www.facebook.com\/pickthebrain\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2014-12-03T05:45:20+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2014-12-06T04:59:05+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.pickthebrain.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/12\/ptb-why-insecurity-is-a-good-thing-copy-960x640.jpeg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"960\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"640\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@pickthebrain\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@pickthebrain\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Erin Falconer\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.pickthebrain.com\/blog\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.pickthebrain.com\/blog\/\",\"name\":\"Pick the Brain | Motivation and Self Improvement\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.pickthebrain.com\/blog\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.pickthebrain.com\/blog\/insecurity-good-thing\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.pickthebrain.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/12\/ptb-why-insecurity-is-a-good-thing-copy-960x640.jpeg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.pickthebrain.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/12\/ptb-why-insecurity-is-a-good-thing-copy-960x640.jpeg\",\"width\":960,\"height\":640,\"caption\":\"Why Insecurity Is A Good Thing\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.pickthebrain.com\/blog\/insecurity-good-thing\/#webpage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.pickthebrain.com\/blog\/insecurity-good-thing\/\",\"name\":\"Why Insecurity Is A Good Thing\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.pickthebrain.com\/blog\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.pickthebrain.com\/blog\/insecurity-good-thing\/#primaryimage\"},\"datePublished\":\"2014-12-03T05:45:20+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2014-12-06T04:59:05+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.pickthebrain.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/2da8ae162c097bdb749ab098472b4cc5\"},\"description\":\"While most people think insecurity is the enemy, the truth is insecurity is a good thing. 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