11 deep questions to ask yourself when you feel doubt

  1. Am I feeling doubt about something in my personal life?
  2. Am I feeling doubt about my business?
  3. Am I doubting myself?
  4. Is there anything else going on in my life that makes me feel doubtful today?
  5. What is the worst possible outcome that could happen from not doing this new plan of action, and how likely is it to happen?
  6. Earlier today, what did my doubts look like and how did I feel about those doubts?
  7. What are the assumptions that make me feel doubtful?
  8. Why am I doubting?
  9. How am I doubting?
  10. Who am I doubting?
  11. What is the context of my doubt?

10 tips on how to deal with doubt

  1. Understand that uncertainty is not just a bad feeling, but has intellectual and pragmatic components. Understanding uncertainty can help you to cope with feeling uncertain.
  2. Surround yourself with people who bolster you and are a logical sounding board for your ideas.
  3. Spend time with people who make you happy.
  4. Spend time with people who have the same faith as you.
  5. Makes sense to name it, as then you can remove it.
  6. Maintain your standards.
  7. Find out the origin of the doubt, identify it as illogical, and confront it directly in your own thoughts or in a safe space with others.
  8. Express your doubts and share them with another trusted person or group.
  9. Develop strategies to deal with future negative behaviors that will be triggered by feelings of discomfort or stress (e.g., use mindfulness techniques, take a break from commitments, etc.).
  10. Count your blessings and value the exceptions to unmet expectations rather than focusing on the exceptions to meet expectations.

How doubt affects you

Doubt can be viewed as an absence of confidence in oneself. Doubt typically causes people to question and waver on topics. Questioning oneself can be comforting because it provides a break in an onslaught of choices and decisions, which can be stressful. However, people who are plagued with doubt often lack the motivation to make any choice whatsoever. In other words, doubt is what causes people to stall when making any kind of decision.