Have you ever had this thought that you are not good enough to be called an employee in your company? Do you think that you are not as good as your contemporaries? Do you think your schooling is not from a high-fi elite school, so you can’t match the standards of the other students? When a task is assigned to you, do you refuse to do it because you think you are not as advanced as your competitors? If you possess any such thoughts of shame in your mind, then you are definitely a victim of a disease called “inferiority complex.” Wherever you go, you see such low-esteem in many of the people and you are unable to understand why? Let me tell you that inferiority complex is a psychological phenomenon that dwells in the people who are submissive and lack self-confidence. It is a susceptible malady that evokes people to doubt their abilities and thus, feel bad about themselves. It is commonly found at workplaces where there are numerous people with diverse minds and talents and thus, the chances of scaling one another increases. Here are 10 ways by which you can overcome inferiority complex at work:

Photo by Tranmautritam, CC0 1.0

1. Don’t Let Comparison Affect You

You live in a society, you work in a company, and you study in an institute, in all of these places exist so many people, then definitely comparison is imminent to happen. So, only those people survive in long run who not only approve of comparison as a healthy way of instigating competitive spirit in people, but also take comparison as part of their lives. You must not misconceive comparison, comparison is not to let you down, but to give you a little push so that you improve yourself.

2. Enjoy Being Different

Inferiority complex arises because you think that you don’t possess a particular skill that everybody has. For example, you are a knack writer, but when it comes to public speaking, you are a squeaky speaker and thus, you feel embarrassed when your speaking abilities are compared with others. You must not take it to your heart, in fact, you should be happy that if not speaking skills, but at least you have excellent writing prowess that no one else can master. So, respect your individuality and enjoy being unique among others.

3. Determine The Factor That Stimulates Inferiority

There are certain aspects that fuel inferiority complex in you, like your dressing style, or your way of speaking, etc. For instance, those who have the habit of speaking their local dialect develop an accent and thus, they speak English with the regional touch, and they don’t dare to speak English in public because they fear that they might not speak it as fluent as others. So, this is how only one factor stimulates complexity. You have to identify that factor and work upon it, otherwise your inferiority will keep on lingering and you’ll never gain victory over it.

4. Do Not Doubt Yourself

Those who lack self-respect and can’t voice their opinions for themselves are the ones who doubt their potential every now and then. If you have some guilt or some kind of discrepancy, then only you should doubt yourself, otherwise the habit of finding flaw within yourself frequently is not a sign of a good contender. So, trust your capabilities and everything would be fine.

5. Don’t Be Oversensitive

Generally, those people are considered to be insecure who are very sensitive to every word that people say about them. Such people are very delicate and they can’t tackle any rudeness around them and even if a person is being just to them by telling them the truth, they would doubt them. So, to overcome this inferiority complex, you have to be emotionally strong.

 6. Handle Failure with Positivity

When two individuals stand on the same platform, then competition is bound to take place. If you can’t bear to see and listen to anything that is not in your favor, then you will never be prepared to face harsh situations in your life later. Such psychological complexities arise because of human thought process and unless you change the process and unwind new dimensions of life, you won’t be able to get through all this.

7. Indulge in Healthy Competition

You just can’t escape competition because you think that competition would give birth to comparison. If you are scared of being called a loser, then you become one by having such a thought in your mind. Forget about useless scaling methods that measure the entity like talent which has no specific evaluating criteria. So, have the balls to face competition and get to know yourself better.

8. Change Your Perception About Yourself

How you look at yourself determines the way people will perceive you. So, you first need to raise your level in your eyes and then judge the difference between yourself and others. You have to be strong and forget about being humiliated by such comparisons. Once you become conspicuous, then only you can be released from this trap of inferiority.

9. Ignore Critiques and Listen to Your Heart

There are many opportunists at workplace, you would try to pull your leg by mocking at you and by crushing the least sense of dignity you have for yourself. Sometimes, people genuinely pinpoint your mistakes whereas some people try to stab your image intentionally. So, try to discern the difference between the two and not let such bitter statements prick you. Inferiority complex results from petty comparison, so don’t mind accepting your flaws and move forward by working on it.

10. Don’t Let Anyone Play with Your Mind

Such degraded thoughts breathe in your mind because you let people manipulate you. It is said that “You can’t let anyone manipulate your mind unless you permit them to.” So, it is up to you how you handle the comments that people make on you, and how you react to such useless notions. If somebody says that “You are not eligible to be part of this debate club,” will you listen to this comment, just crib about it and fix it in your mind that whatever is said to you is right. Of course, not. You have to cleanse your mind and ears and not let anyone affect you.

If you don’t consider yourself important, then what will other people think of yourself? Will they not call you a coward or someone who always underplays? Do you think you can live with the tag of a loser for the rest of your life? Do you wish to see yourself watching others taking awards while you sit back hand in hand? Do you want to continue being called self-critique? No, right. So, wake up and groom yourself in order to build your confidence. You have to realize that inferiority complex can just rake you up from inside and not do any good to you. So, don’t make your simple life complicated by adding the tint of inferiority in your life.