Self-Doubt

I’ve been there.

Everything is going fine. You’re feeling pretty good.

Then… HELLOOOOO self-doubt.

It stops you in your tracks.

And you think you actually need to listen to it.

That it’s intuition or a sign that you need to pay attention to.

That you need to pause and reconsider what you are doing.

That something has gone wrong. That something needs to change. That you aren’t prepared enough. That you aren’t ready. That you aren’t good enough.

But in reality, self-doubt isn't a thing that just happens to you. It isn’t a message. 

Instead, self-doubt is created by the thoughts that you're thinking.

And if you're prone to self-doubt and negative self talk, all that’s happening is that your brain is playing its regularly scheduled programming.

Programming that pops up when you start something new or are doing something that is challenging.

Or sometimes when you are just existing and minding your own business.

You can explore it, see where it's coming from. That can absolutely be helpful.

But don't take it as a message that you need to change anything that you are doing or about who you are. Or that you have a reason to doubt yourself.

The only thing that needs to change is the way that you are talking to and thinking about yourself.

You will likely see that your thoughts that create self doubt are often the same set of thoughts on repeat - maybe with a tweak here or there - but it is the same set of thoughts on loop that your brain plays to conserve energy.

Your brain doesn’t want you to do anything that requires effort or that it perceives as “dangerous” (including anything that might have you feeling some negative emotion).

So it uses self-doubt to keep you where you are.

Working on those thoughts will lessen how often the self-doubt programming plays and keep it from playing on loop once it gets started.

In the meantime, remember that self-doubt comes and goes. Stop taking it so seriously.

Acknowledge it. Say “Hi, I see you. You seem real, but you aren’t.” And carry on.