Do You Doubt Yourself?

Do you doubt yourself? I do, and I am not ashamed to admit it.

- NAVNIIT GANDHI

I have come across several folks who never doubt themselves; not even for a moment. While I admire some for their self-confidence, there are others who come across as too self-assured and arrogant.

What about you?

Do you doubt yourself, in the sense that you are not too sure of whether what you think, speak and act is or isn’t good enough?

Do you keep quiet when you know that you must not, just because you are not too sure of yourself?

Do you wonder a lot about why and how others are so very talented and confident?

Are you alone battling with self-doubt?

If ‘yes’, then while we need to sit up and do something, we also can pat and comfort ourselves because we aren’t alone in this battle with doubt. Self-doubt has plagued the minds and persona of many a top-achiever, too.

Many successful and famous personalities have spent sleepless nights fearful that they did not deserve all of what they have achieved and that it shall all be taken away.

American poet, Maya Angelou, once admitted: “I have written eleven books, but each time I think, ‘Uh-oh, they’re going to find out now. I’ve run a game on everybody, and they’re going to find me out.’”

The thought that they are not competent despite the success and fame, gives a lot of anxiety to many of those whom we admire in our lives. When taken too far, a mild and harmless feeling of self-doubt makes many people feel that all of their name and fame is a fraud. Known as Imposter Syndrome, these disturbing thoughts can rob us of all joys and contentment in life.

What causes self-doubt?