The Goal Achievement Podcast, hosted by Productivity Expert Matt East, is all about helping you find clarity, design a plan, and most importantly achieve your goals.

Matt shares two secrets for finding your motivation!

Learn more at www.matt-east.com

Overcoming Self Doubt

Podcast Transcription

Hey guys, what's up it's Matt. 

Hope you're doing really well, on today's episode we're going to talk through three secrets you can use to overcome self-doubt. So the next time some self-doubt creeps in, I've got three tips or tricks or secrets that you can use to help defeat that, to overcome it, so let's dig in. 

The big question we all face every morning is this: How can we focus more time on the projects, activities, and relationships that are most important and meaningful to us and less time on the stuff that doesn't matter so we can actually move closer to our goals and dreams? 

That is the question, and this podcast is the answer. My name is Matt East and welcome to the Goal Achievement podcast. I'm so glad you're here, now let's dig in. 

All right, gang, let's dig in. So I received a listener question this week that said: 

Matt really enjoyed your recent podcast episode about the two secrets for finding motivation. Do you have any secrets that you could share for overcoming self-doubt? 

So yes, I do, I've got a few things that I like to use, I've got a few things that have helped clients of mine, so let's just chat through them real quick. 

So the first thing I like to think about, if I'm facing self-doubt, is I think through this... I think if anyone else has ever done what I'm looking to do, if anyone else has ever done it, then that validates that it's possible and it helps me understand that I can do it too, so does it make sense? So if someone else has done what you're looking to do, it validates that it's possible and that with enough skill and effort and you know, if you stick to it, you can do it, too. 

So I think through that a lot, I think through when I'm struggling with something that I'm trying to do. But I know someone else has done it before, like start a podcast, write a book, or something like that I definitely think through, hey if anyone else has ever done this before, then I should be able to do it, I may have to be patient with myself, I may have to skill up, I may have to put forth more effort than I expected or wanted to, but it does mean that if someone else has done that thing, that it reassures me that I can do it too. 

So that is definitely the first secret that I use as I reflect on that, I do that a lot, that is definitely something I keep in my back pocket, and it's something that I share with clients a lot too, so keep that in mind, if someone else has ever done that thing that you're doubting that you could do, then it validates that it's possible and that with enough skill and enough effort, you can do it, too, so that's the first thing. 

The second thing is, I like to reflect back and think of a, of a you know something in the past that I had doubt about and then I overcame it, and then I use that to build confidence that, hey, I have had this feeling before, I've had this self-doubt like this before, and I was able to overcome it, and once I overcame it, it was no big deal. 

So like again, using the example of like writing a book or starting a podcast I had big doubts about both of those things. So... but I just thought to myself, you know, hey, I have felt this way of other times in my life where I had self-doubt and I overcame it then and I'll overcome it this time, so I kind of use that to build confidence, as I'm, as I'm facing that self-doubt, that reflection back that, hey, I felt this before and I was over to be able to overcome it before. 

So if you think back to a time in your life where, you know, you had self-doubt and then you overcame that, think through what that process looked like, what it felt like, and when you're facing self-doubt with something you're working on now, try to apply that, hey I felt this before and I overcame it and I'm going to do that this time. 

So that's definitely something that I like to use, is just reflecting back in time and... and recognizing that I've overcome this feeling before and I'll do it again. 

So that's a good little tip or trick, good little secret. 

All right, then the third thing for overcoming self-doubt is this. 

Just to remember that as you are demonstrating the ability that you are doubting or if you are as you are just getting better at whatever that thing is that you're doubting that you can do as you take action on it, and is you... your acumen for whatever it is gross, your doubt is going to dissipate, it's going to diminish over time. 

So just remember that, that if you're having a lot of self-doubt similar to the last episode where if you're lacking motivation, you kind of have to do the thing to actually feel motivated, it's counterintuitive. This is the same thing. 

Like you're not going to release that self-doubt until you actually take some action in your acumen and your ability and your skills for whatever it is that you're doubting yourself. 

And that is, your self-doubt is going to decrease as your ability increases, and the only way you're going to be able to, you know, demonstrate the ability to do whatever the thing it is that you want to do is you're going to have to take action. 

So remember that you know, that's something like talk about my podcast as an example, I mean, the first I mean, the first thing I mean, the episodes still aren't that great, but the first 50 were terrible and... and you just get better by just continuing to do it and continuing to put in the wraps, and that's how it is, that's why I get so frustrated... I, you know the podcast community, people reach out a lot, and so I get reached out to a lot by, like new podcasters and they'll say, you know, they want some guidance or whatever, and a lot of times they'll feel frustrated that after like, you know, 10 episodes things aren't going well. 

And it's just like, man it takes so much, you know we're in a hundred and thirty, forty-something episodes in... well, and that's just on this podcast, not counting the Better Humans podcast. So, you know, I've recorded hundreds of podcasts and I'm still pretty terrible and the only way I'm going to get better is by, you know, continuing to refine the skills and to refine my podcasting ability to get better, to improve, to practice, to record episodes, I mean that's it. 

So I get frustrated when guys reach out. They're like, I'm 10 episodes in I think I might quit like dude you're 10 episodes in! Nobody's listening yet because nobody knows you're podcasting and because you're not very good, so hang in there. So, yeah, got to build up the acumen, got to build up that your ability, and as you build up your ability that self-doubt will begin to decrease and to diminish over time. 

So and you know, you're never not going to... you're always going to fill some self-doubt, keep that in mind. I mean, people are notorious for... you know, feeling like impostors, regardless of what you're doing, so you're never going to feel completely comfortable, that's just not how the game works. 

So... so understand that a certain amount of that self-doubt is healthy and it's to be expected. 

That's probably another really good tip to expect it to expect that you're going to have some self-doubt, but as you take action, that self-doubt will decrease. 

So that's it, guys. That's what I would say. 

So to recap those, I'd say number one. If anyone... Remind yourself if anyone's ever done the thing you're looking to do, that validates that it's possible and if they could do it, you could you can do it, you might need more skill, you might need to put out a tremendous amount of effort, but if it can be done, then you should be able to do it, too. Obviously, that's within reason, but, you know, most things that does apply for 99 percent of stuff I'm helping my clients with giving that advice is good advice for they want to write a book, start a podcast, build a business. Hey, if anyone's ever done it, you can do it and use that knowledge to your advantage. 

Number two is to reflect back and think of a past time when you had self-doubt and you overcame it and used that as confidence to realize that you're going to overcome your gonna be able to overcome the self-doubt that you're facing currently. 

And number three, remember that as you demonstrate the ability, the skill or the ability that you are currently doubting through your actions and you build an acumen for doing whatever it is that you want to do, your self-doubt is going to decrease. 

And then lastly, like I said, you're always going to have more self-doubt. So don't let it freak you out and don't let it to stop you from taking action, and you know, as you take that action, as you take the right action, your self-doubt is going to decrease over time. 

So I hope those... hope, those little secrets for reducing or overcoming self-doubt, I hope you guys like that, hope those help, and I hope you're able to take one of those and use it this week. 

Everybody have a great week, and if you need anything, please don't be shy I'm happy to help in a way that I can. That's it guys, have a great week, bye-bye. 

Hey everyone, it's Matt again, and I have two special offers for you: 

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I hope you guys loved this episode, and we'll chat again soon bye-bye.

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