Self-doubt is a topic that hits close to home for me and for many others too. Even when we’ve been successful in our careers, it can unexpectedly show up and keep us trapped.

Here’s something I’ve been asking myself lately: Why do we question who we are, what we want, and what we’re capable of? These should be the building blocks of our lives, yet for so many of us, they’re shaky foundations at best. It’s not just self-doubt that blocks us, but it’s a big one.

Why is self-doubt such a big deal? When self-doubt is your constant companion, it’s like living in a box that’s far too small. You stop taking risks, shy away from opportunities, and never quite become the person you’re meant to be – all because you’re questioning your fundamental right to be yourself and pursue your dreams.

This topic fires me up because, in my career, I wasted so much time believing I wasn’t enough. Looking back, I can see inflection points in my career where I took the restricting road of self-doubt. I remember a phase in my career when I would get off a bus in an industrial park where the company I worked for had their head office, after a long public-transit commute, and every day I’d ask myself, “How did my life lead me to this place?” It was a mystery to me then, and even though it’s still painful to look at now, I see how self-doubt (and other things) took me off my path and landed me in the wasteland of an industrial park.

The good news is that, on my journey, I’ve learned many tools and techniques to navigate the murky waters of self-doubt. It’s been awhile since that depressing commute, and I now have my own business and am writing this in my beautiful back yard. I love my work because I get to help others break free from their own self-doubt so they can make better decisions during those career inflection points. 

One tool I’ve found particularly powerful is “The Work” by Byron Katie – a set of four questions that can offer glimpses of your true self, by questioning your deeply held stories about yourself. Interestingly, these are stories we don’t even know we’re telling ourselves!

The thing is that there are so many tools and ways to diminish that voice of self-doubt. They just aren’t widely known yet. Tools help you take things like self-doubt from a concept and into the real world, which is where real change happens.

So, next time self-doubt creeps in, just notice it. Is it steering you onto a safe, known, small path? What if you could stand at that inflection point in your career and be able to choose the more expanded path, the one that’s meant for you. What if you could take life on and become who you’re meant to be, doing what you’re meant to be doing?