When cultural messages are constantly encouraging us to work harder and do more, it’s easy to get stuck in a cycle of hyper-productivity, perfectionism, and self-doubt. But it is possible to break the pattern and overcome self-doubt. And when we do, we can also reclaim our energy, our passion—our true selves. If you’re stuck on the grinding path, try these 7 steps to overcome self-doubt.
A work of art which did not begin in emotion is not art.
Paul Cézanne
Sharon, a new coaching client from the Bay Area, sent me a late-night email that was practically dripping with regret and frustration. She had been working for hours on a packet to send to her Board members in advance of an upcoming meeting and was frozen in place.
“I don’t know what to tell them,” she said. “I am writing in circles. I think I am losing my mind.”
I jumped on WhatsApp to chat with her. “Tell me what you are trying to say,” I typed.
She quickly wrote back, relieved I was up due to our time zone difference. “The two big deals we had pending are not going to close before month’s end. I’m in a full-on panic.”
“Why do these deals feel so urgent?” I asked. “I was under the impression the last time you and I spoke that your cash position was super strong.”
“We are solid, cash-wise. But I told the Board several days ago that these deals were on track.”
I kept typing. “Is the delay something of deep concern (that is, the deals are in jeopardy) or simply a potential letdown for the Board?”
“The latter.”
I had a hunch as to what was really going on. She needed to overcome self-doubt.
“When was the last time you did something for the helluva it?” I asked. “Something completely out of the ordinary. Something that brought all the oxygen and fun and your sense of adventure front and center?”
She replied, “LOL. A year ago?”

Sharon is not unique. Her tendency to deny herself pleasure, rest, and joy-filled experiences is more common than not among my hard-charging entrepreneurial clients.
It is easy to get on the slippery slope of self-doubt, overworking, and perfectionism as most of our cultural messages and those from our personal histories are likely to emphasize doing more, being more, at any cost.
Once on the grinding path, we are likely to stay on it—what I call being in the Stagnation Zone, a numbed-out, exhausted, and colorless existence. It is a killer of our creativity, problem-solving, and happiness.
While in this zone, all of our efforts feel as if we are pushing boulders up an impossible hill. Our fountain of ideas is bone dry. Our access to our imagination and intuition is completely cut off.
It is a dangerous zone of self-doubt that infects our thinking and behavior in subtle and grand ways. Importantly, our clients, our team members, and, yes, our Board members, can feel it. To get out, we must overcome self-doubt.
Take a moment and reflect upon your current effort-to-results ratio.
If you are not closing deals, communicating from a place of confidence, and/or leading your life and enterprise with self-trust, this is your red, flashing light that it’s time to overcome self-doubt.
Do you feel as if you are working harder than ever, and yet, you are only garnering lackluster results?
Are you stuck, second-guessing yourself?
Do you find yourself procrastinating and putting off bold moves that you know in your gut are the right choices?
If you answered Yes to any of these questions, stop. The most important action you can take right now is to decide to reclaim your fire. Decide to overcome self-doubt. Restore your energy and passion.
7 Steps to Stop the Brain Churn & Overcome Self-Doubt
1) Get out your journal.
2) Ask yourself: What did I once do that made me feel incredibly free, connected, and alive (that I stopped doing when life got busy)? How did I overcome self-doubt before?
3) Write it all down, capturing every restorative action, no matter how small.
4) Make a plan to bring at least one of those things back into your life within seven days. The wilder, the better!
5) Schedule it in your planner now.
6) Prepare your rebuttal for when your brain wants to tell you to blow off the fun plans. Know that our lack-based mind will crank out all kinds of nonsense when it senses we are about to break free. Stay strong!
7) Take action before this time next week.
Coming home to ourselves is much easier than we think.
Doing so requires a willingness to live and think differently than the vast majority of those in our midst who operate from a place of scarcity. When we choose to ignore cultural, limiting beliefs as well as those that emanate from our brains, we can overcome self-doubt.
We can reclaim our energy, passion, and clarity. Our true nature—our wild selves.