What’s your opinion of this picture on the right?
My opinion about it is split.
It’s true, many people do believe that it would “feel” easier to achieve their goals without self-doubt.
But this comes from the assumption that self-doubt can’t – in some circumstances – be used as a resource.
A lot of top performers and successful people use “doubt” as a driving force. If they doubt themselves they work harder. They use it as a signal that they have to learn more and develop further.
If others doubt them, they use it as fuel to become better in order to prove them wrong. It might not feel good but it can be used as a driving force to create something meaningful; as a trigger for further development.
Self-doubt can seem – and feel – destructive, but it’s often present BECAUSE of an inner drive for improvement. It’s the surface level expression of something deeply powerful and resourceful.
Think about it, if you didn’t want to improve and achieve something meaningful then you wouldn’t care about whether you doubted yourself or not: you’d be apathetic.
“Self-doubt” and “a desire to achieve” are both part of the same system. When you pan the camera back they belong to the same positive drive.
They may seem at odds with each other on the surface, but, ultimately, they are both after the same thing.
So perhaps it’s not a question of “putting it down” in order to make things “easier”.
Maybe it’s more a case of realising that self-doubt is a natural part of the achievement process; it’s an indication that you deeply care, and that further learning may be required.
It can be the fuel that pushes you on to greater things.
Viewing it in his way doesn’t make it disappear, but it does change your relationship with it and how it makes you feel.
It turns something we are often told is a parasite into a useful resource. Which – in my opinion – is what it’s meant to be
All the best,
Steven
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