More To That

Why We Doubt Ourselves

Learn the three rules of self-doubt to silence its voice for good

Illustrations courtesy of the author.

Of all the emotions I struggle with, the toughest is self-doubt.

To give you an idea of our tenuous relationship, here are some of the questions self-doubt routinely asks me:

“Hey, you. Yeah, you. Will your work ever be good enough?”

“Do you really think you’ll be able to grow this blog into something financially viable?”

“Shouldn’t you just give up now and do something else instead?”

These questions are no fun to face, and the most frustrating part is that they can appear at any moment. Even when things are going well and I’m feeling good about my work, all it takes is for me to check my website analytics or read another person’s great article for me to question everything I’m doing.

I know I’m not the only one who struggles with self-doubt, as it largely comes with the territory of any worthwhile endeavor. However, the interesting thing is that it’s both a bug and a feature; amidst the haze of negativity it stirs up, there is a…