How to Beat Self-Doubt & Accomplish Anything

When I decided to start this blog last winter, I had doubts. Many automatic negative thoughts rushed through my mind:

• With all of the blogs out there, why would anyone want to read mine?
• Why should anyone care what I have to say?
• There are so many talented bloggers, what right do I have to try and compete?

The truth is that those thoughts are completely normal. As emotional, thinking creatures that is what human beings do. We doubt ourselves. Of course people fall all over the spectrum from super-confident to incredibly low self-esteems; but even the most arrogant people experience occasional feelings of self-doubt. It is how we deal with those feelings of self-doubt that determines how successful we are and how much we can accomplish in our lives.

Having been a practitioner of CBT for many years, I try to replace my negative thoughts with positive ones always. When it came to starting my blog, my thoughts were fairly rational, but they were also very negative. I needed to replace those thoughts with positive ones. Luckily with practice and time it has become easy for me to do:

• It doesn’t matter how many blogs there are out there, my voice is unique.
• Some people will like what I write, others may not, but even if I can touch one life, it will be worth it to me.
• My goal is to help people, not to compete with other bloggers for the spotlight.

I started this blog because I am passionate about helping people. I did not let negative thoughts or self-doubt get in the way. By replacing negative thoughts and self-doubt with positive thoughts and self-assurance you can beat your insecurities and accomplish your goals every single time.

What One Man Can Do, Another Can Also Do
I have been with my partner for just over two years. His can-do attitude constantly inspires me. Last December we moved into a major fixer-upper (also known as a “handyman’s special”) on the edge of a state forest. The house was in complete disrepair. It would have intimidated even the most experienced of carpenters and handymen. But he rarely gets intimidated or overwhelmed. Over the last year he has tackled areas of the house, piece by piece. Slowly but surely we see improvement. In August, some electric work needed to be done. My reaction was obvious to me, call an electrician, but he responded that he was going to do it himself. This scared me. Electric work is serious and if something goes wrong it is potentially dangerous. Even with the state the house was in — I didn’t want it to burn down! Still, he was confident as he usually is. His response is always the same, “What one man can do, another can also do.” He read a how-to electric book and the electric got done.

What one man can do, another can also do. The idea is simple, but it is also revolutionary. It was this idea that gave me the final push to start this blog. I scanned through all of my favorite blogs — Gala Darling’s, Tim Brownson’s, Paulo Coelho’s… — and I thought, these are just people! These are human beings just like me! I can do what they are doing. And then, I went ahead and I did it. It’s really and truly that simple.

Yes, I experience challenges just like everyone else. I work 40+ hours a week at an association. That tends to get in the way of updating, but hey, I roll with the punches. I update when I can. Maybe I am making a small difference in many people’s lives. Maybe I am making a large difference in few people’s lives. The point is that I am transforming lives! How incredible is that? And maybe one day this blog will take off. Maybe one day I can quit my 9 to 5 and blog full-time. Right now this is my path. This is the the road that the Universe has led me to. I am grateful for it and I am living my dream to help and inspire others.

You Can Achieve Anything That You Put Your Mind To
I am living proof that nothing is impossible and so are you. In my lifetime I have done things that I never thought I could do and that other people told me I never could do. I spent 3 weeks in Kenya. I lost 70 pounds. I overcame severe anxiety and depression. I asked my boss for an $11,000 raise. I started a self-improvement blog and I am helping to change people’s lives!

“The more you lose yourself in something bigger than yourself, the more energy you will have.” —Norman Vincent Peale

I could have stopped at any point. I could have let fear and irrational, negative thoughts get in my way — but I didn’t. I kept pushing forward. I believed in myself. I promise that you are capable of doing the same.

What is your goal? What is the thing that you want to accomplish most in your life? Think about it and then get to work.

• Practice Visualization.
• Surround yourself with people that will encourage and inspire you.
• Remind yourself that “What one man can do, another can also do.”
• Live & breathe your goals.
• Believe in yourself.
• Replace all of your negative, irrational thoughts with positive rational ones (CBT).
• Do not let anything get in your way.
• Remember that failures & mistakes are just bumps in the road to success. Don’t ever give up.

“It’s not what we do once in a while that shapes our lives, but what we do consistently.” —Anthony Robbins

Success Is Yours for the Taking
You have no idea how powerful your mind really is and how able you truly are. There is nothing that you can not do. Stop the pity party today. Stop the excuses. Throw your fears out the window.

“As a rule, men worry more about what they can’t see than about what they can.” —Julius Caesar

Accomplishing a goal can be as simple as learning how to do the electric in your house or as complicated as traveling the world in 3 months. The point is that no matter what it is — if you believe that you can do it, you will do it. I am here rooting you on and the Universe is conspiring with you, on your side, always.

If you want to know more about how I achieved any of my personal goals, ask! If there is anything that I can do to help you reach yours, let me know!