Self Doubts – How To Manage Them
I recently read an interview about best selling author, Wilbur Smith. He is now 76 years old and has worldwide sales of around 100 million US. It has been 50 years since he started writing historical adventure novels about Africa. He has published 32 books in 26 languages and has rarely been out of the bestseller lists. I’m sure you would agree with me that he is successful. This is what he had to say on the subject of self doubt:
“It doesn’t get any easier or harder to write as you get older” he says “I now know what to expect and how to handle the self doubt that comes after starting to write.”
What can we learn from this?
That success does not depend on getting rid of self doubt. It will always be there, even when we are extremely successful. It’s how we are wired as human beings. What makes the difference is recognizing self doubt when it appears and knowing how to manage it so we can focus on the belief that no matter how we feel we can still be successful.
And what should we do when self doubt shows up? Simply acknowledge that it’s there but don’t attach anything to it. It is simply self doubt not the end of the world.
The fact is,self doubt will always be there so if you are waiting for it to not be there before you are successful then you may as well accept now that you never will be. Is that really what you want for yourself?
Live the life you love and love the life you live!
Filed under: Business Personal Development
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Great post and thanks for sharing! You know, self doubt was probably my biggest hurdle to overcome – and I still struggle with it often. ‘i’m not good enough’ ‘smart enough’ know enough’ and worse ‘they know so much more- how can i compete’?!
I guess the biggest ahh haa moment I had, was when I learned to actually appreciate myself and congratulate myself on my small achievements. I think entrepreneurs can be especially hard on themselves, always pushing for more, better results, faster results, more time, more money…. well at least this seems to be true for me. Pushing so hard that we over look the small victories- every victory is worth celebrating – the kinder we can be to ourselves, the quicker the doubt dissapears
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Thanks for your comments Kat. So very true what you say. We all have the self doubt hurdle to deal with but I guess it’s how we deal with it that matters. What;s important to do is ensure that it doesn’t stop us form taking action which is what was true for me for a long time.
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I feel inspired after reading your post, it makes me realise everyone is plagued by self doubt. Like the man says, its having the ability to carry on regardless, giving self doubt no power!
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Marcus Baker Reply:
May 19th, 2010 at 7:58 am
Hi there and thanks for visiting my blog. Self doubt is something that will always be with us so when we accept this and we can find a way to manage it, it won’t stop us from taking any action to begin with.
~Marcus
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