Achieving greatness as an indie artist is no easy feat. You have to work on your craft, find an audience without the million-dollar budgets of a record label, and make your way, but none of those is your biggest hurdle.

The biggest hurdle for any upcoming artist doesn't look like much until it becomes a problem. As an upcoming indie artist, your biggest hurdle is your self-confidence. Without it, you would give up in a heartbeat. If you don't believe you're good enough to succeed, why even bother trying?

This means you must always try to keep your self-confidence high. To do that effectively, you must first know what brings your confidence down. Let's have a look at some popular villains.

Things that Rob You of Your Confidence

Cause and effect are one of the basic rules of life. Nothing happens without a reason. Find that reason, and perhaps you can get to the bottom of what's happened. So why might your confidence not be where you would like it to be?

Imposter syndrome

Have you ever felt like a fraud? Like you don't belong in music? Have you ever wondered why anyone should bother listening to your music? Imposter syndrome is knocking on the door.

Imposter syndrome is one of the biggest drainers of self-confidence. You'll feel like a total fraud that shouldn't be given the light of day. Sometimes I feel like my articles don't deserve to be read. If you have imposter syndrome, I've got good news for you.

You can fight it. There's no reason why you should let that nagging feeling win and end your career before it even begins. You can fight it, and I'll show you how.

Writer's block

Imagine sitting down to write a song and your head is as blank as the sheet of paper in front of you. Writer's block is a nightmare for artists. It's almost like your creativity has been cut off. Sometimes it's so bad that you start to wonder whether you've ever been creative at all.

Once your thoughts start to go in that direction, it can be a slippery slope. You might even start thinking about past creative days as flukes. This lack of confidence makes it harder to break out of the block, which in turn will sink your confidence even deeper. It doesn't have to be that way, though.

Delay in success

Delay is not denial. This saying can easily become meaningless to you if you've just suffered a setback or received a rejection. Seeing people who started after you doing better than you makes it even worse. You start to wonder why it's taking so long.

"Maybe I've been trash all this while," you start thinking to yourself.

Delay is not denial, but it can be painful. I understand that. But don't let it put you down for too long.

Overconfidence

As ludicrous as this sounds, it's true. As an indie artist starting your journey, don't kid yourself about your level. Arrogance is different from confidence, and it will lead you down a dangerous road.

When you rate yourself higher than you are, and you realize nobody else rates you that high, your confidence will plummet. You will either express it through anger or sadness, but it'll hurt.

Self-confidence is an important part of music creation and becoming a success in the music industry. It's important to start working on your self-confidence while on your journey through music.

Practical Tips to Build Up Your Confidence

Now that we've talked about some common causes of low confidence, let's try to solve them. Here are some of my favorite tips that you can do.

Play live

Live performances are one of the best ways to build your confidence. The thrill of performing live will remind you exactly why you do what you do. The immediate reaction of your audience is also a great way to get your confidence back up. Few things can motivate you like a round of applause.

It doesn't matter how big or small your audience is. You can start by playing in front of the mirror, then going on to play in front of your family and close friends. As your audience gets bigger, so does your confidence. Eventually, you'll be performing in front of thousands of fans with a huge smile on your face.

Fall in love with your music

Whatever path you choose in life, there will be tough days. One thing that can keep you going during such times in your music career is your love for what you do. When the deals and money aren't coming, only passion and love for what you do will keep you going.

So before you start, make sure you love what you do. It'll keep you going through those low-confidence days.

Find a support group

Sometimes you need someone else to remind you how awesome you are. One of my favorite ways to fight low confidence is to have a support group. Whenever you're low on confidence, this group will help you stay on your feet.

The best part of having such a close circle is that they also help to critique you and make you better.

Change your mindset

Your mind is where your biggest battles are fought. To beat low confidence, you must train your mind on how to view things.

Rejection should be a chance to improve, and success a motivation to push harder. When you're determined to be the best version of yourself, all you should care about is an improvement. Do not, and I repeat, do not compare yourself with anyone. That leads down a road you don't want to go. Instead, compare yourself with the previous versions of yourself. This will keep you motivated and confident.

Resources to Help You Out

I have two bonuses for you. I'll share two books and one video with you that have helped me personally. I hope they help you out too.

●    Two books:

The Six Pillars of Self-Esteem by Nathaniel Branden.

The Gifts of Imperfection by Brené Brown.

●    Two videos:

An interview with Jordan Peterson about building unstoppable self-confidence

Sam Harris on controlling the thoughts in your head

Final Thoughts

Believing in yourself is one of the best things you can do for yourself. This belief, or self-confidence, will keep you going even when the times are tough. Consequently, it's imperative to maintain healthy self-confidence.

I hope this article has been of great help to you. Whatever it is you're going through, remember what made you start music in the first place. Remember that you are awesome. I'm cheering you on, Champ!