What if I don’t pass this test? Are my friends just hanging out with me because they feel bad for me? Can I handle working two jobs and going to school full-time? What if I never figure out my life’s purpose? Will I have to work at this crappy internship forever? Stop. The self-doubt stops right here. Instead of continuing down that destructive thought-spiral, here are eight ways to beat negative self-talk and start believing in yourself.

1. Be Aware

The initial step to overcoming anything is to first become aware of it. “Being able to catch [negative self-talk] is a huge piece of [overcoming] it,” says Dr. Tim Jordan, developmental and behavioral pediatrician. By becoming aware that we are doubting ourselves, we can sooner identify it and put a stop to it. Luckily, Dr. Jordan says that as we identify our self-doubt more and more, we will get quicker at identifying and stopping it. See? This is already a step in the right direction.

2. Focus on the Present Moment

Focusing on the current moment is one way to keep you from doubting your future self. By staying right here in this moment, doing whatever you may be doing, you can give yourself fully to it. But being in the moment can be hard, so Dr. Jordan recommends counting deep breaths in and out, or focusing on one sense, like closing your eyes and identifying how many sounds you can hear. “Focus on what can I do today?” says Dr. Jordan. “It’s all good here,” he says of the present moment. Plus, if you’ve already done everything you can do, then what is there to worry about? You’ve got it!

3. Create a Mantra

Replace that nagging “Can I really handle this?” thought with an “I’ve got this!”, and you’re already rocking the mantra game. If you’ve never used one, having a mantra can seem a little weird, but it actually works. Having a mantra helps to break that spiral of negative self-talk and center you back to a more positive frame of mind. According to Dr. Jordan, mantras are most effective when they are “short, sweet and totally positive.” A mantra should not be something like “I am not stressed,” because then you are focusing on the negative. Instead, a mantra such as “I am peaceful and calm” will help you focus in on the positive. Dr. Jordan also suggests saying your chosen mantra as if it has already happened, not like it is going to happen at some point in the future. The best part is that there is a mantra to be had for anything. Seriously, anything…which means you can tailor one specifically for your needs and what makes you feel good.

4. Surround Yourself with Positive Influences

When you are trying to overcome self-doubt, being surrounded by negative people only makes doing this harder. So, surrounding yourself with healthy, happy, encouraging people will help you on your way to eliminating that negative self-talk. Like motivational speaker Jim Rohn once said, “You are the average of the five people you spend the most time with.” Choose wisely, and take your time. There is no rush when picking quality people to have in your life. And if you have to lone-wolf it for a little while, then girl, you have to lone-wolf it. Rest assured, though, things really will work out. You just have to believe it and take that step forward, whatever that step may be for you.

5. Don’t Compare

In a society that is constantly telling us we’re not good enough, it is easy for us to make comparisons to the starlets we see on screen and the models we see on Instagram. But we can’t do that to ourselves! When we catch ourselves comparing our bodies, minds and souls to those of other people, we have to remember we are not them. This is such a beautiful thing because, just as we aren’t them, they aren’t us. There will never be someone with your uniquely composed looks, your beautifully complex mind and who sees what you see out of your vividly kaleidoscopic eyes. You are totally—and beautifully—incomparable. Own it!

6. Re-decide

If you decide you’re somehow not enough of something (smart, pretty, strong, etc.), this can cause self-doubt. The good news is that this decision isn’t final. By re-deciding what you think of yourself, you can totally conquer that self-doubt. So, how do you re-decide? Well, Dr. Jordan says to journal, go on a retreat, draw or just generally soul-search in order to come to a new decision about yourself that you can feel happy with. You so deeply deserve to believe you are more than enough, because you 100 percent are. And if someone tells you you’re not enough, first off that’s a jerk move on that person’s end (refer back to point four), and secondly it’s that individual who is lacking something, most definitely not you. Beyoncé was probably told she wasn’t enough of something at some point, and she’s a queen, so what does that tell you?

7. Take it Slow

There is absolutely no need to stress yourself out by moving too fast, as Iris Goldsztajn, a senior at UCLA, has learned. “I try not to place unreasonable expectations on myself and take things slowly. If I have a million things to do and I feel incapable of doing them all, I deal with them one at a time and remind myself that I’m only human and that it’s okay if I can’t do everything I set out to, but that I can do my best,” says Goldsztajn. Just remember, Rome was not built in a day, and neither are powerful women. Switch lanes for a little bit and drive on the slow, thoughtful side for a while. You can hop back into the fast lane whenever you want, knowing that when you do, you’ll be ten times more confident because you’ve gotten to take it slow and think for a little bit.

8. Free Yourself

Too often we determine how we feel about ourselves by factoring in what other people feel about us. “A lot of people assess their self-worth by looking at other people,” says Dr. Jordan. So we must break free of the chains that tell us our self-worth is defined by other people. Our self-worth is solely dependent upon what we think of ourselves. When we can find freedom from giving concern to what others think of us, we are truly free to embrace who we are. What better way to eliminate self-doubt than to truly believe in ourselves?

There you have it: eight ways to kick self-doubt out of your life and bring more confidence in. We know you’ve got this, and hopefully you know that now, too. Whatever it is you’re doubting yourself about will work out beautifully one way or another, we’re sure. Keep your head up, queen, and work that crown!

8 Ways to Stop Doubting Yourself