Giving self doubt a voice

I’ve been writing a lot lately. An awful lot. In emails. And Google docs. In Om Writer. And in Scrivener. Plus on several blogs. Many, many words have been flowing.

Plus, I’ve also been having a lot of conversations. Face to face. In hangouts and over Skype. In phone calls and via instant messaging. Many, many conversations have been unfolding with an incredible number of folks. These have been with people that I not only respect — but I admire.

And — in all of that writing and within the flow of the conversations there has been one topic that has stood out. Constantly. Over and over.

Wondering what it is?

Self doubt.

Yes, really — self doubt.

• What exactly it is.
• How it impacts our lives.
• The games it plays with us — and especially the way it can mess with our thinking.
• How we respond to it and how we try to manage it.
• And — most importantly, the pain it seems to cause so many of us.

It seems a lot of folks are thinking about self doubt. Or living with it. So much so — that I have come to realize that I am never, ever alone with my own self doubt. Ever.

The reality is that there’s an epidemic of self doubt going on.

Now, maybe self doubt is so constant in my writing and in my conversations because I’m so fascinated by it as a topic. Or maybe it’s because self doubt has been one of the biggest tag along companions in my life thus far. Or maybe it’s because I have become increasingly self aware in recent years.

But — I think it’s more than that.

Much more.

You see, I have come to realize something. Self doubt is one of those things that seems to impact every single one of us. Some of us less. Some of us more. And for a select and special group — it impacts us so much more than more.

If you’re a creative or an entrepreneur— well — I think self doubt is likely to hit you harder, faster and more often. So much so that it can be excruciating and debilitating. In fact, for many of us, self doubt can turn our lives upside-down and inside-out simultaneously. And always on the days or weeks or months that we most need it not too.

It’s like self doubt has a special pass to be front and centre in the lives of those of us most called to take true risks to change the world for the better.

Yes — the more creative or entrepreneurial you are — the more self doubt seems to show up in your life (unless of course you’re Gary Vaynerchuk.)

So — what does all of this mean? Why am I writing about self doubt? And why am I having conversations about it?

Quite simply — I think it matters.

I think it matters — because I believe people matter. You see — it’s hard to build a business, create change, do good or make a true dent in the universe if self doubt is always right there with you. If it has a hold over you. Or if it constantly gets in your way.

And I’m learning something else— the more room I make for self doubt to be part of my writing and my conversations, well — the less power it seems to have over me. In fact, it’s like the grip of self doubt seems to become less every day. On me. And on others too.

Plus — I’m also realizing something else too. Trying to outrun self doubt might not always be the right approach. Nor is pushing through it. Or resisting it.

Truly, the more I welcome self doubt into my world, the more I invite it to the table — the more I give it a voice — in my writing and in my conversations — the less it seems to want to be there at all.

It’s hard to imagine that by giving self doubt a voice — the less it has to say. And the quieter it becomes. But that’s exactly what is happening. And I’m not alone in discovering this.

So — give your self doubt a voice and see what happens. Maybe it has far less to say that you think it does.