Part 1: Dealing with Self-doubt

It’s easy to doubt yourself. You second guess important decisions. You wonder if you’re going in a healthy direction. You don’t know if you have what it takes to create the life you desire. On and on it goes.

Occasionally doubting a decision or a choice is one thing; everyone has those moments, but living in a perpetual state of self-doubt is, well, just plain miserable. 

Second-guessing a decision is much different than not believing in yourself. It’s the difference between questioning a choice versus questioning yourself. 

Take these words to heart: regardless of where you are in your life right now, or your mistakes and failures, or missed opportunities, this is the perfect time to start believing in yourself, even if you’ve never believed in yourself before. 

What Is Self-Doubt?

According to the dictionary, self-doubt is a lack of confidence in yourself and your abilities. The path to happiness and fulfillment isn’t paved with self-doubt. 

Consider these questions if you’re suffering from self-doubt. Ask yourself:

How is self-doubt affecting my life?

How is self-doubt affecting my relationships?

How is self-doubt affecting my career, job, or entrepreneurial desires? 

Am I ready to replace self-doubt with self-confidence?

How Self-Doubt is Harming Your Life 

Hanging on to self-doubt will damage your happiness. Self-doubt has damaged your past, is affecting your life today, and it will poison your future if you don’t deal with it. Here’s why. 

• Self-Doubt Paralyzes Motivation – Fear becomes your ruler when you don’t have confidence in yourself and your abilities. You focus on what’s wrong with you and your life and what you don’t have because it’s pretty impossible for “someone like me” to have that kind of life. The result? Shallow, unsatisfying relationships, a job you hate, and a life you don’t enjoy. You wait around, hoping and wishing for the day when things will get better. A person suffering from self-doubt stays stuck. But a person who chooses self-confidence takes action to start improving their life. 
• Self-Doubt Triggers Procrastination – Often, self-doubt traps a person within the quicksand of perfectionism. They believe they have to wait for the right time, the perfect plan, or the right people to show up. So, they never finish anything. Why? Because there aren’t any perfect plans, people, or moments. It’s not about perfection anyway. It’s about learning and growing. Elon Musk said, “If things are not failing, you are not innovating enough.” Or, how about this inspiring quote from Michael Jordan, “I can accept failure. Everyone fails at something. But I cannot accept not trying.” 
• Self-Doubt Results in Regret – If you don’t move forward with your goals and dreams, and if you don’t invest your time and love into the people who matter most to you — if you’re so busy doubting yourself that you keep delaying living your life, regret will be waiting for you at the end of your journey. Imagine…what will your life eventually become if you keep living like you are today? And, is that what you want? Regret poisons happiness and can lead to anxiety and stress. 
• Self-Doubt is a Self-Fulfilling Prophecy – Unless you replace self-doubt with self-worth and confidence, you’ll start to believe that you aren’t worthy or deserving of love, success, and happiness. You accept whatever comes your way. You allow circumstances to shape and define you. Remember: You deserve health, happiness, love, and success. But it’s up to you whether or not you’ll take inspired action to unlock your best life. You can rise victorious above setbacks and disappointments or continue being a victim of your circumstances. 
• Self-Doubt Stunts Self-Growth – When you don’t believe in yourself or your abilities, you start believing that you and your life don’t matter, and you tend to live that way. Why would you invest in yourself by taking inspired action to improve your life, health, and relationships if, at the core of your soul, you believe, think, and feel that you don’t matter – that your life is of no consequence?  
• Self-Doubt Kills Passion and Inspiration – It’s hard to be inspired and passionate about life when you don’t believe in yourself and what’s possible for you. Why? Because instead of seeing an optimistic future of love, opportunity, and happiness, you tend to see a future filled with pain, hurt, and disappointment. Instead of living with joy and abundance, you live with scarcity and lack because you’re the “victim” of outside forces. Choosing to end self-doubt by replacing it with self-worth and confidence is essential to unlocking your best life.  

In Closing

Self-doubt is dangerous. It will fill your life with discouragement, frustration, and regret. And it makes you apathetic and complacent. And it makes it very hard for you to enjoy yourself – who you are as a person – and your own life. But the good news is that you can choose to replace self-doubt with self-worth and confidence and begin unlocking your best life today.

Stay tuned because, in Part 2 of Defeating Self-doubt, we’ll start identifying the source(s) of your self-doubt.