We all have tons of ideas and aspirations for greatness. Some of us achieve it, and some of us just flop around in the mud. But if we try, we go through this phase. It’s a challenge and it can crush many of us. But what would you attempt to do if you knew you could not fail?
Self-Doubt
Plain and simple. I am convinced that self-doubt is the single biggest killer of dreams known to man-kind. We begin to tell ourselves how much we suck.
I can’t do it.
I’m not good enough.
I am not smart enough.
I don’t have those resources.
Nobody will show me what to do.
I do not have a background in that field.
And these start out as whispers in our heads, then we start to question ourselves.
Why am I doing this?
Isn’t there an easier way? (this one booms in my head every single day)
Who am I to blaze that path?
Do I like punishment or something?
Why am I ruffling feathers like this?
Are people noticing what this? Do they care?
Then we start to rationalize with these thoughts. We start to tip just a little bit in that direction of the self-doubt ever so slightly.
Maybe I’ll just take a break from working on it
If I don’t finish nobody will care (except me)
It doesn’t really matter if I accomplish this or not
I started this for stupid motivations anyway
I can live with the fact that I quit on this
People aren’t noticing this
Even worse, people are noticing & they have expectations now
That’s all I know though. I can’t tell you what comes next because this is where I’ve been able shut it down every time. Starting is hard. Shipping is even harder. We go through these phases and if we can’t turn that doubt into motivation it will get the best of us.
Find what motivates you and remember why you started in the first place. Remember that feeling you had when you took your first step towards that goal and let it fill you. Keep that motivation in front of you, today is not the day to give up on your goals!
If I knew there was no option for failure I wouldn’t even be writing this today, I would be hard at work. As you can tell I’m having a little self-doubt these days. Thanks for reading, I’m back in line and I’ve got work to do!
What are you struggling to finish? How has self-doubt struck you recently?
Have a great weekend!
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