Overcoming and embracing self-doubt

 

* This cool statue was spotted in downtown Portsmouth in New Hampshire. *

Self-doubt is a funny thing. It's even a funny word to spell (No seriously, I had to look up the spelling of doubt. Like, is it dou-bt, or dob-ut?). 

It's easy to doubt yourself when making choices, and therefore not make any choice at all. Oftentimes, what prevents us from getting things done is not laziness or lack of motivation, it's uncertainty. It's an overwhelming, pervasive feeling of not being good enough. So we choose to do nothing rather than risk making a mistake or looking foolish.

All negative emotions are rooted in the same thing: fear. To overcome them, we must look to the opposite of fear. What is the opposite of fear? 

Faith.

Having faith is easy when things are going well.  It's not so easy when that self-doubt feeling creeps in and negative thoughts play in your mind.

Take action with faith that everything will work out how it's supposed to, that things will fall into place. That by sharing your voice with the world, you can reach somebody who needs to hear it. If you feel like you're not good enough, remember that you're exactly who you're supposed to be. Try to think about things you like about yourself instead. 

Listening to your negative thoughts can prevent you from taking action toward your goals. Try to recognize a negative thought, and learn to replace it with a positive thought instead. Especially think of how taking action instead of holding back can help somebody else.

For example

Negative thought: "I shouldn't post that blog post, my writing style sounds awkward." replaced with "I could help somebody by sharing my insight on this topic. Nobody's writing style is 100% perfect. I am confident that my post will reach somebody who needs a pep talk."

 Don't put your goals off because you feel like you're not good enough. Start that project, write that poem, paint that painting - whatever your creative niche is, go do it! You are good enough exactly the way you are. And the world needs your uniqueness. 

Also, nobody is perfect. We all make mistakes, and we all doubt ourselves. To be human is to be flawed. We don't operate on an algorithm like a bot- instead, we are complex beings full of emotion and small idiosyncrasies (another word I had to look up the spelling of.)

 Embrace your self-doubt- it means you're capable of emotion. Embrace your feelings, your flaws, and your lack of perfection. That's what makes you yourself. Think of how you can share your talent and unique self with the world- then do it!