Overcoming Self-Doubt

Written by Naseem Amini

What does the voice in your head tell you each time you want to try something new or difficult? If you hear “I can’t do this” or any similar statements that deter you from attempting it, you have come face-to-face with self-doubt. Self-doubt is a lack of confidence in your own abilities, decisions, or worth that most commonly manifests as a fear of failure. Believing that we are incapable of success often leads us to cancel plans, avoid exploring new interests, quit projects, and neglect our own needs. Thus, we are stuck in a cycle where we never take on new challenges, further maintaining the belief that we would fail if we did. 

Now that we have an understanding of what self-doubt is, what do we do about it? In order to truly overcome self-doubt, we must become comfortable with failure by… failing. This is not an easy feat, however, so let’s break it down into some manageable steps that will culminate in the courage to push self-doubt to the side.

Step 1: Accept and name the doubt

Acknowledging that you are experiencing self-doubt as a normal protective mechanism is the first step on your journey. Normalizing the experience will remind you that you aren’t alone in all this. Everyone will likely feel some self-doubt when trying something unfamiliar. Giving it a name, particularly a silly one, will help you in normalizing doubt and reducing its influence over you.

Step 2: Challenge the doubt

Doubt is often followed by a series of “what ifs.” What if I fail? What if I embarrass myself? What if I’m not good enough? Start to challenge these thoughts with your own “what ifs”. What if I succeed? What if I love it? What if I am enough? Talking back to your self-doubt and thinking about what accomplishment looks like stretches your confidence muscle in preparation for real-world scenarios.

Step 3: Find your why

Attempting to do something new or challenging is not a simple feat. You likely chose to try it for a reason. What was important enough to risk the feelings that come along with the experience? Reminding yourself “why” you are doing it prioritizes your purpose over your fear and can be refreshing when the “I can’t” starts sounding louder.

Step 4: Practice!

Putting all these steps into action is the best way to quiet the voices and become comfortable with the unfamiliar. Courage and confidence are built as you disprove your doubts by doing the thing you were so afraid of. Whether you fail, succeed, or simply exist, your brain will remember that you did it once and can do it again.

What is one thing you have always wanted to try and never did? What is stopping you? Take a step out of your comfort zone this week to try something new, regardless of how self-doubt makes its appearance.