Over the past few weeks, I saw two awesome people in my newsfeed reach a new level of accomplishment. They were featured in really big name local sites. I was amazed and happy for them. Immediately, I remember how they started, how much they’ve grown since then and these made me even prouder to see how far they’ve come.
After a few days, I noticed those feelings start to turn to self-doubt. We were having a not so great week and thoughts of how I am not doing this entrepreneurship thing start to creep in. I started to compare us with our friends’ accomplishments. It doesn’t even make sense since we’re all in different industries.
Self-doubt will forever linger and hover around you like a hawk.
It will wait for that tiny crack where it can seep in and turn you against yourself. It’s not something that you can permanently lock in box. How you react to it will determine whether it stops you on your tracks or whether it makes you grow further. I found that being able to pull yourself out of the situation and looking at what’s happening as if you’re an outsider helps. Then I ask these questions:
What caused the “crack” that helped self-doubt seep in?
Can I do anything about that cause?
Why am I really doubting myself? Is it skills that I saw that I think I don’t have? Am I wanting a specific result right now? Is there something going on that is not what I expected it to be? Am I currently experiencing a hard time?
How far have I come? How did I start? How different was that from now?
Why am I doing this?
Most of the time, self-doubt isn’t about envy. It’s about you losing track of why you are here and how you got here.
