The Best Way to Overcome Self-Doubt: Let It In

Do you avoid uncomfortable emotions?

I know I do--sadness, self-doubt, anger. When I'm not in the mood to feel these emotions, I often do what I can to avoid them. For example, today self-doubt is ringing loud in my ears, and all I want to do is avoid writing at all costs. I haven't touched my poetry collection, and while I do plan to at some point, I thought coming here first might be more helpful. If I allow myself the space to vent about my discouragements, I might gain the courage to overcome them.

It's just. . .I've always been most critical of myself. Tony Robbins says,

"The only thing keeping you from getting what you want are the stories you're telling yourself about why you can't have it."

The stories I'm telling myself today include things like:

• I'm not good enough.

• I'm not talented enough.

• There are people way more cut out for this.

• I will never make the same impact as [insert name here].

• Maybe I'm lying to myself about being a writer.

I know this the self-doubt speaking, and I know deep down inside of me is the girl who believes with so much of her being that writing is part of her story. Days like this, or even moment like this, are just hard to conquer. You wonder why you set yourself up for this kind of confusion and doubt, but that's part of the process. Self-doubt is normal. It happens to all of us, and we're all doing our best to cope or stay ahead.

As my therapist told me yesterday, I need to work through my emotions rather than avoiding them. And so do you, friend. Maybe it's self-doubt like me, maybe it's a sadness that physically hurts your chest, or maybe it's something else entirely. I know how hard it is to sit with what's uncomfortable, but if I've learned anything in my last few years of recovery, it's this: you can't escape emotions. You can avoid them, push them down, and bury them deep into your soul, but eventually they will always find the power to resurface. You will never get over it until you get through it, so let this post serve as me getting through the self-doubt.

I'm uncomfortable and partly sad to think such negative thoughts, but like every other emotion these too are temporary. Just as the good emotions can't stay forever, neither can the bad ones. The wave of self-doubt will pass, but it's better to ride it out than possibly crash or drown in an effort to get off too soon. Stay on, ride the wave, and step onto the shore a better, stronger version of you.