When you picture the image of an entrepreneur in your mind, perhaps you imagine someone who is always cool, calm, collected, and decisive—a person who never regrets a decision or laments a failure and never suffers from self-doubt. However, the truth is that such a person does not genuinely exist.
Self-doubt affects everyone, no matter what they do or how they may present themselves to the public. And rather than being immune to self-doubt, entrepreneurs are highly susceptible to it. Without a regular paycheck in place and many decisions to make daily, any entrepreneur will likely experience feelings of inadequacy or imposter syndrome at some point in their career.
But while self-doubt is normal, it can cripple you if you let it. And as an entrepreneur, you can’t allow it to sap your time and energy if you want to succeed.
Here are five simple strategies to overcome self-doubt and get back on track to achieve your goals.
1. Assess Your Doubt for Meaning
Doubt is a natural part of being human. And despite its negative connotations, it does serve a purpose. It warns us that something is wrong, although it’s not always clear what that something is.
So while your initial urge may be to make this feeling go away, it can be helpful first to explore why this feeling exists without letting it paralyze you.
Start by exploring your thought process to pinpoint the source of doubt. Once you’ve identified the problem, ask if it’s something you can control, eliminate or change. And are there any goals or tasks you can set yourself to help remove the doubts?
If the source of doubt is something outside of your control, then it serves no purpose in holding you back.
2. Concentrate on Internal Motivations
You’ll never succeed if you measure your self-worth by the expectations of others or your income alone. That’s because external motivations like money and admiration can rarely fulfill you in the long run.
Also, avoid comparing yourself to others. It doesn’t matter how far you’ve come. There will always be someone who seems ahead of you or succeeding where you have struggled.
Instead, remind yourself why you do what you do and the passions that brought you to open your businesses. Focus on your internal motivations and block out the noise from elsewhere, and your vision for your business will be clear.
3. Outsource Tasks
Despite how others may make it seem, you don’t have to be brilliant at everything to be a successful entrepreneur. Indeed, there will always be something that, no matter how hard you try, isn’t in your skill book or that you don’t have the extra time or energy to do. That’s not a sign of failure. That’s a sign of being human.
If you have the budget, it makes practical sense to move certain tasks on to someone else. After all, time is equally valuable as money in business, and it pays to focus on what you excel in. Your workflow will improve as a result, and your doubts will subside.
4. Stop Overthinking and Act
Sometimes you’ve just got to get out of your own way and do something productive. That might mean taking proactive steps to take care of your mental health, investing in personal growth, and betting on yourself to succeed.
Self-doubt can lock you into inaction if you let it, which in turn leads to more self-doubt. And as an entrepreneur, you don’t have the time to be locked in stasis in this way.
So, break out of the cycle and make your move. Chances are, your find many of your doubts were unfounded.
5. Value Yourself
Not everything will go to plan in business. And as a result, it can be all too easy to dwell on the negatives. But a point comes where you must forgive yourself for your past mistakes, move forward, and stop beating yourself up.
Appreciate yourself for what you’ve achieved before. And remember that each of your failures was also a learning curve you can now use to your advantage.
Take time to develop healthy daily habits that give you the time to reflect, take perspective, and take care of yourself. That might mean unplugging from technology for a while each day, practicing meditation or exercise, or simply engaging with a hobby.
Remember, your mind and body are essential to your success, so it pays to look after them.
Final Thoughts
There is no magic cure for self-doubt, and there’s no guaranteed strategy you can utilize to avoid it in the future. But if you use these strategies and look after your mental wellbeing, you can learn to be vigilant for self-doubt and navigate through the worst when it becomes overbearing.