November is less than a week away and many of you must have made plans to take part in the NaNoWriMo. Surely there’s no worse time than now to be riddled with self-doubt. Sylvia Plath had it right when she said that ‘the worst enemy to creativity is self-doubt’. Today, we talking about small steps you can take to stamp out self-doubt.
How to Stamp Out Self-Doubt
Never compare yourself to others – Easier said than done, but remember comparison is not just the thief of joy, but it robs you of your ability to see your own talents and use them effectively.
Keep self-affirmations handy – Since a lot of self-doubt stems from what we say to ourselves, it’s important to re-engineer our brains to think positively. Write down a whole lot of self-affirmations – make posters, use them on your desktop, put them on your devices – reminders that you can write that book. You’ll find some affirmations here – personalize them before you use them.
Seal up the self-doubt gremlin – If you’ve read Anne Lamott’s ‘Bird By Bird’, you’ll recall her suggestion to pick up the self-doubt gremlin and throw him (oh yes, it’s always a ‘him’ đ ) into a jar and seal the lid! That way you’re not going to hear his voice at all! To get more practical, write down on slips of paper all that the voice of self-doubt tells you and put those slips into the jar!
And of course, the grand-daddy of all tips to stamp out self-doubt – Keep Writing.
Remember, writer’s block is just a convenient excuse.
