You’ve decided to finally do that thing you’ve been thinking about – open a new business, change careers, take a long-coveted course…
You’re excited. You’re committed. You’re ready.
But then…
Just as you’re about to take that first major step – start accepting clients, stop entertaining offers in your previous field, put down the payment…
The self-doubt hits:
“What if this isn’t what I really want? Maybe I’m supposed to do something else? Maybe I should do that other thing over there?”
Your ego is never stronger than when you are about to make a significant change.
It wants you to stay in your comfort zone.
The ego likes you in a place where it knows the lay of the land. It doesn’t matter whether that land is a happy place or one fraught with dissatisfaction or indecision. Like a stubborn child, it wants to stay put.
This is why the moment you are about to take action, you doubt yourself.
Like a shy four-year-old starting school for the first time, your ego doesn’t know what’s going to happen when you let go of its hand so it does everything it can to keep you holding on.
The stronger its grasp, the more significant the change when you let go.
From this perspective, self-doubt isn’t so much a sign that you might be on the wrong track but an indicator that you are on the right one.
There’s a saying in personal growth: “New level. New devil.” This means that when you get to the next level of your life, you will continue to have challenges.
I think a better phrase is:
The devil precedes the level.
Looked at this way, doubt is simply another sign that, should you break through it, major growth is on the way.
What doubts are you struggling with? Drop me a line and let me know.
