Self Doubt is both a bug and feature.It can throw questions like “Hey, you. Yeah, you. Will your work ever be good enough?” “Shouldn’t you just give up now and do something else instead?”.However there is utility to it as well.Self-Doubt is useful because it indicates how important something is in our lives, and whether or not that endeavor is worth pursuing deeply. If you had no doubts whatsoever about the work you’re doing, it likely means that you don’t care enough about it, as brash certainty and carelessness tend to be close cousins.

Two Sides Of Self Doubt.

The ability to silence Self-Doubt is a superpower, and will be one of the greatest assets you can have throughout your journey.But in order to cultivate this skill, we must first understand the mechanisms Self-Doubt operates under to appear in the first place.If we can get a good look into the rules it plays by, then we will be better equipped to face it whenever one of those patterns become evident.

How To Silence The Self-Doubt ?

Whenever we doubt ourselves, what we are actually questioning is our ability to meet the expectations of what we think is possible and like it or not, our expectations are built by the possibilities that other people have already reached, or are close to reaching.After all, we wouldn’t be writers, cooks, or musicians if there were no writers, cooks, or musicians that demonstrated the viability of these art forms before us.Once we’re able to understand how our view of others affects our sense of progress, then we are better equipped to handle the fear that Self-Doubt throws at us.

Self-Doubt Is Not Really About the Self.

Three rules that Self-Doubt follows to manifest itself in us are,Rule #1: Overestimate others’ abilities, and underestimate your own.Rule #2: Be envious of what others have accomplished.Rule #3: Make quitting seem like a rational decisionHowever you can keep in mind these three things to successfully silence it:(1) Stop being so hard on yourself, and give yourself credit where it’s due.(2) Do away with envy, and be inspired by your peers instead.  (3) Ignore short-term results, and play the long game instead.

3 Rules And 3 things to keep in mind about self Doubt.

Whenever the gap between what you’re doing and what others have done widens, it will feel natural for you to question your progress, and whether or not you’re making any forward movement at all.But what’s interesting is that this gap is determined by your perception of where you stand relative to others, and not what may actually be the case. For example, someone you perceive to be way ahead of you may actually believe that you are much further along than them.

Rule #1: Overestimate others’ abilities, and underestimate your own

If the first rule explained why we doubt ourselves in relation to others, this second rule is what internalizes that doubt into something destructive.Envy has this nasty ability to flare up strongest amongst people you are closest to, primarily because it only appears amongst folks you can readily compare yourself to. So counter-intuitively, it is strongest amongst peers, friends, and family:Envy takes a group of familiar and loving faces that should make up our support systems, and instead warps them into sources of inadequacy that only makes us doubt ourselves even further.

Rule #2: Be envious of what others have accomplished

There will be moments where it feels like no one cares about what you’re making, despite all the energy and effort you’re putting in. It will feel like the only response to your work is a deafening silence that echoes out violently, making you question why you’ve chosen to spend any time on this endeavor at all.If you combine this with the belief that everyone is more capable than you are (Rule #1), and what if you can’t help but to feel envious of the people you’re closest to (Rule #2)? Doesn’t quitting sound like the most sensical thing to do in this position?

Rule #3: Make quitting seem like a rational decision

Only you have access to the behind-the-scenes struggles that come with doing your work. Whenever you compare yourself to others, remember that you’re seeing their finished product, while you’re feeling the pain of each step of the creative process. It’s not a fair comparison, so don’t use it to base your judgment on whether or not you’re doing great work.

(1) Stop being so hard on yourself, and give yourself credit where it’s due.

Envy’s greatest trick is to flare up strongest among the people you’re closest to. Instead of feeling inadequate around the company of your peers, recognize envy as the deceiving little bastard it is, and replace it with gratitude for these people around you. View their life journeys as inspirations for what is possible, and become a more empowered creator as a result.

(2) Do away with envy, and be inspired by your peers instead.

If you’ve found something you love working on, chances are you want to stay there for a long, long time. So even if you’re not seeing the results you want today, just know that you’re slowly building yourself an on-ramp to future progress. As long as you can view your endeavor through the lens of decades and not days, you will be able to silence Self-Doubt and continue working on the things that make your life so meaningful.

(3) Ignore short-term results, and play the long game instead.

Having self doubt can stop us from doing what we want.Especially the things that we keep postponing like doing a side hustle or starting a new business.Sometimes it even prevent us from doing day to day things.After reading this post you will understand why self doubt arises and how can we silence it once and for all. 

Self-Doubt is a difficult emotion to beat, but if we understand the three rules it follows, we can silence its voice for good.

Bite-sized knowledge
to upgrade
your career

#longterm

IDEAS ABOUT #longterm

Why We Doubt Ourselves - More To That

It's time to

READ

LIKE

A PRO!

Bite-sized knowledgeto upgradeyour career