Self-doubt is your biggest enemy. You may not be aware of his presence, but it is always there. Creeping from within you. It is up to you what you’ll choose to do with it.
The more you try to repress it, the bigger and scarier it becomes. And as time passes, it only gets harder to control it. That voice inside of you becomes even more convincing and troubling that eventually you stop trying and you give in. You surrender and let your self-doubt take over.
From that moment on, nothing you do in life seems like it’s good enough. Your inner critic is the one that guides you in life and you are nothing but it’s faithful servant.
“Did I make the right decision?”
“Do these people care for me?”
“Am I good enough?”
These are some of the questions that I’ve been living with most of my life. The reason for my crippling anxiety, my inability to push myself to the limits and succeed in the things that I am passionate about. The reason for my failures and disappointments in life.
Growing up, my inner critic forced me to question many things and give up on many dreams. The first thing that I convinced myself that I am not capable of doing was playing volleyball. The insecurities inside of me combined with the comments others people made about me were enough for my self-doubt to grow bigger. So, I quit.
Time flew, but things stayed the same. Even after I turned 20 and started my first job as a content writer in a marketing office. I’ve always known that I have the gift to express myself through words, but my self-doubt found a way to destroy even that tiniest glimmer of hope in me. The belief that I am not good enough stopped me from reaching my potential. It froze me and made me question myself.
Until one day I woke up and realized that if I keep doing this to myself, I will condemn myself to an unfulfilled life of darkness, misery, and pity. I just couldn’t let that happen. That was the moment when I finally opened my eyes and promised myself that I will no longer feed my doubts.
That was the moment when I got out of my comfort zone and decided to challenge myself.
If you are someone who is going through the same, know that I believe in you. Just remember, no matter what you do, make sure to follow these 3 golden rules:
1. Do whatever makes your heart smile. Stop sabotaging your missions. Every passion that you give up, every dream that you leave behind, every goal that you bury only strengthens your self-doubt. It gives power to your inner critic. The more afraid you are, the more you let it win. And the more you let it win, the more it controls you. Instead of letting fear and self-doubt mess with your mind, get up, try and do your best. It doesn’t matter if you fail. Challenge yourself and do it again until you finally succeed.
2. Focus on your achievements, not on your failures. Stop reminding yourself how many times you’ve failed. Stop pitying yourself. Get out of that victim mentality and start looking at the bright side. Your failures are just stepping stones to your success. If it weren’t for them, you wouldn’t be here today. And always remember. If you hold on to your failures, you will never be brave enough to try something new. But if you focus on celebrating your success, even those small victories, you will be much more motivated to keep doing your best.
3. Have patience and trust the journey. At the end of the day, life is never about the destination. What matters the most is the journey. Every up and down, every step forward and every setback, every difficulty, and every breakthrough. All of this matters because it is a part of your journey. The most important thing you need to do is realize that we all have different paths in life. And they are all unique and challenging in their own way.
Your responsibility is to follow yours and trust the journey. Adjust your sail, direct your focus, know that you are right where you need to be and just keep moving.
