The Perfect Solution When It Comes to Eradicating Self-Doubt

When your dreams overwhelm you that’s how you know you’re on the right track.

There are mornings when my alarm goes off — at 5 am, as part of a new daily routine which I’m trying to implement — and all I can think is, “What’s the point?”

Thirty minutes later, after I finally manage to drag myself out of bed, I step into the shower and as the warm water flows from my head to my toes, I ask myself, “What’s the point?”

Then, as I sit down to begin these new morning rituals — which should have been and dusted by this time — I look at the page in front of me, pause for a second, and you’ve guessed it, I wonder, “What’s the point?”

Yes, sometimes chasing your dreams can be a real struggle and a test on your morale.

The Perfect Solution When It Comes to Eradicating Such Negativity

Fortunately, not all days start or play out the same way and for many, the above scenario is not a frequent occurrence.

But regardless of how often these negative thoughts rear their ugly head, the fact of the matter is everyone has self-doubts at one time or another as they work towards achieving their goals.

It doesn’t matter if you’re Elon Musk or Barry the Binman — or if you’re American, Gary the Garbage guy —there is always that little voice inside that’s trying to talk us out of becoming a better version of ourselves.

You may look at your heroes, people living the life that you aspire to achieve and the first thing that comes to mind is; “There’s no way I could possibly achieve anything like that.”

In fact, only this past weekend I found myself overwhelmed by the goals that I have set and the journey that I must take in order to achieve them.

It was Saturday evening, and after putting my young son to bed around 6.30 pm, I lay on the couch basking in the first spell of silence I’d had all day — it’s tiring work trying to keep up with a hyperactive three-year-old.

As I lay there meditating over my game plan for a better life, contemplating the different steps I’d have to take in order to get to where I wanted to go, that’s when that cheeky-little voice piped up again — and I don’t mean my three-year-old son, who is growing up to be quite the menace.

No, it was that self-doubting inner chatter again, chiming in with its unhelpful, unwelcome two-cents.

“You know, if you are serious about achieving your goals, you’re gonna have to make a number of lifestyle changes. You have so many bad habits to break and even more good ones to create, do you really think it’s possible?

You’re thirty-three now don’t forget and basically set in your ways, why don’t you just kick back, have a beer and enjoy the life you’ve already built for yourself? That’s much easier than trying to transform into someone you’re not.”

As I said, that inner voice can be a real cheeky sort at times.

Luckily for me, I’ve been faced with this kind of inner self-doubt many times before and have the perfect solution when it comes to eradicating such negativity.

So, once the devil on my shoulder had finished with his speech and before the words began to repeat themselves over and over again in my mind — which is how self-doubting thoughts usually operate — I bolted upstairs, grabbed my laptop, fired it up and got to work.

Immediate action destroys self-doubt.

Run Towards the Flames

Of course, sometimes that’s easier said than done.

Uncertainty in yourself can spread fast and when that happens, it doesn’t take long for your goals to become daunting, so much so that lack of confidence can get the better of you and force you to give up all hope and retreat back to ‘safety’ within your comfort zone.

For this reason, it’s important to build self-awareness and to be always on the lookout for negative patterns in your life, poised, ready to catch and extinguish them before they have a chance to spread.

Remember, immediate action destroys self-doubt, so when you do feel those toxic thoughts trying to deter you from your dreams that’s when you know it’s time to get after it and face your fears.

“There are people who run from the fire, and there are people who run into it.” — Colleen Wing

Before I go, I’ll leave you with this. The reason we get nervous, afraid and overwhelmed on the pursuit of our goals is that it’s in our nature as humans to be wary of the unknown.

We are wired to stay safe, remain cautious and stick to what we know, which is solid advice for survival but not so great when trying to create a better life for yourself and for your family.

So, the next time you feel unsettled about your dreams for the future, remember, that's just your body telling you that you’re on the right track.