Can your self-doubt propel you to success?

Here in this short article, I explore how we can change the way we deal with our self-doubts such that we can make it help us succeed instead of failure.

I have a secret tank inside my mind which can hold a million gallons of self-doubt. I remember my school days when I used to repeat the “I can’t” mantra to my mom every time an exam came around the corner.

Engineering days went in making small notes for every subject and unless I re-read that notes before the exam, my confidence used to take a heavy beating. So, during the exam days, I used to make that 2-km-long walk to college revising my notes & making every minute count. In fact, I used to curse those fellow students who offered a lift to college during this period.

Yes, self-doubt, in general, is not a good thing. It is our biggest critic in life. It is, indeed, harmful if it makes you doubt yourself as a competent individual or question your ability to learn the skills needed to get to your next goal or if it is making you doubt the expected outcome without any facts.

However, there is another side to it.

Even today, I doubt everything I do. It would make me ask for feedback, revisit the strategy, and try a new approach.

This meant that my self-doubt has helped cut down on unprepared bullishness and blind courage when starting something new.

I have started to see my self-doubt as that annoying friend who keeps questioning & makes us redo things but has our best interest in mind.

So, instead of completely ignoring everything it says or taking all it says as gospel, I took the middle path of focusing on the message and not the messenger.

This helped me to stop sulking within and reach out to seek help, ask for the feedback, and hit the market better prepared than otherwise possible.

What kind of self-doubts do you get?

How do you treat them?