I’m delighted to have James Prescott as a guest on the blog today. James is a fellow
Tribe Writer and a great encourager. Today he’s sharing his thoughts on
Insecurities
Insecurities. Those dreaded hangups, fears, doubts, voices in our heads telling us what we aren’t, who we’re not, or how awful we are. Sound familiar? I’ve talked before how there’s not one person without any insecurities.
And this should be of comfort to us.
But having acknowledged we’re all in the same boat, how do we navigate our way out of the insecurity storm?
In the film ‘A Beautiful Mind’ we see the main character, John Nash – played beautifully in an Oscar-winning performance by Russell Crowe – battling against hallucinations his mind is creating, of three specific people. To begin with, he struggles to deal with them – in fact early on he won’t believe they aren’t real.
He has a moment of clarity when he realises one of the hallucinations – a little girl – never ages, never grows up. And once he realises this, he has something to hold on to. He realises these hallucinations aren’t real.
And in time, he teaches himself to ignore them. They never disappear, but he learns to not take any notice of them. In the last scene of the film, after receiving the Nobel prize, he is helping his wife put her coat on, and turns round to see the three people standing on the stairs.
He sees them, and then turns away and walks out with his wife. They are still there, but he has learned to ignore them. They no longer have any power over him. He is not afraid of them, he can look them in the eye, but he chooses not to take any notice of them.
And I think it can be like this with our insecurities.
Often we try to deal with insecurities by fighting back against them, by turning it into a war, a conflict, and this can lead to anger and frustration. Because they usually come back sooner or later.
Maybe the secret to dealing with insecurities is to learn how to ignore them. To name them, to speak them out, acknowledge them – maybe even write them down – and then to cultivate the habit of ignoring them. Refusing to give them power over us.
Almost become friends with them. So we can feel them, see them, experience them. And just smile and walk on.
It’s not easy, and it is a process. But I like the idea of instead of waging war on my insecurities, letting them walk alongside me. Recognising in specific situations I’m probably going to feel or be challenged in a specific way, and allowing myself to experience that but choose not to react to it.
Instead of responding to the promptings of my insecurities, refusing to give them any power over me. Refusing to listen to them. Almost ignoring them.
Jesus said we should love our enemies.
Maybe we need to learn to love our insecurities too.
We don’t have to like them. We don’t have to talk to them. But we can somehow acknowledge the reality of them, and make a different choice.
Maybe then, even if they are still around, they will eventually lose their power. And when they appear to us we can simply acknowledge them and walk on.
Are you with me?
James Prescott is a writer, author and blogger from Sutton, near London.
He blogs at jamesprescott.co.uk on finding divine hope in a broken world.
He is author of the book ‘5 Steps to Encouragement’ which you can download free here.
photo credits:
Lili Vieira de Carvalho via photopincc
Photo of James Prescott supplied by Jamesprescott.co.uk, used with permission
Just another Christian woman... 
We have nothing to fear but fear itself. We have met the enemy and they are us. So true are the words. Insecurities are facets of us, tidbits we allow to control us. By facing them, we learn and by learning, we gain control. You are right. Name it, and it is yours forever. Great post and thoughts.
Thanks Bob, really appreciate your encouragement – great comment too!
Awesome thoughts. Insecurities are a running theme in my family, and one that I hope we all embrace and know.
Thanks Benjamin, and totally agree with you, we should all embrace and know our insecurities.
This is a refreshing take on dealing with insecurities, James. Mostly we tend to fight them and allow them power over us. I’ve found one of the best ways to deal with insecurities is to try to see myself more as God sees me in Christ. There, our insecurites and weaknesses can be turned into strengths as we rely on His equipping, power and grace to overcome them. Seeing them as part of ourselves yet counting ourselves unaffected, unmoved, effectively ‘dead’ to them is how we are encouraged to see our sinful nature too, now redeemed by God’s mercy and grace. An interesting and thought-provoking post! Thank you, James, and thanks to Annmarie for hosting you. Blessings 🙂
Thanks as ever for your encouragement and wisdom Joy, always appreciated!
I find that sometimes we must swallow our fears if we’re ever going to get ahead – peer pressure, appearing the fool, insecurities – all of them stops our dreams. While I know “we live in society” sometimes we must not conform for the sake of normalcy and take the reigns and fight our insecurities. Great blog post.
Thanks for the encouragement and the wisdom Elyse, really do appreciate it.
I love the analogy of insecurities being voices in our head… it is through being mindful and determined that we can overcome these “voices” – so very true… great post. Thank you James!
Thanks Luann – totally agree, we can overcome our voices for sure. Grateful for your encouragement.
good words, james. too often we simply refuse to acknowledge the insecurities/fears that hold us back, and then basically give them power over our lives. but if we simply lean in, acknowledge them but push through regardless, we can overcome. well done. thanks for sharing.
Absolutely Tim, totally agree with you. And thanks for the encouragement too, really appreciate it.
Great post. I can so relate to fighting a war against insecurities, especially today. But I love your perspective, James…to acknowledge them, learn, and remove the power. Thanks!
No problem Laura, really grateful for your encouraging comment too – good to know I’m not alone.
Some people deal with insecurities by lashing out in anger. When one is on the receiving end of anger, it is a good idea to step back and consider why the person is reacting this way. Often it is they are feeling insecure.
I’ve definitely been there – lashed out in anger purely through insecurities. it’s very common i think. A wise comment, really appreciate it.
Excellent post, James. If only I’d grasped this when I was a teen. I would’ve ruled. 😉 I point out to my kids all the time there isn’t one person on this planet who doesn’t struggle with insecurity, and I love, love, love the Nash example in how to conquer those plaguing feelings of insignificance. It will definitely be incorporated in our talks.
Thanks Elise, I really appreciate your kind words & encouragement. Really glad you were able to share this with your kids too. Thanks for the comment.
Thank you all for popping by folks. I’m delighted that James’ post has had such a great response.