I am certain that most capable people don’t believe in themselves enough.
A lack of confidence killed more dreams than a lack of competence ever did.
Self-doubt often seems to be bundled into a package deal alongside potential.
Why?
Is it that capable people are paralysed by high expectations?
Or is competence correlated with rumination and an introspective mind?
Perhaps the greater your capacity, the less accurately you can see your true potential as the end goal is simply so much further away.
I’m unsure on the cause but I’m certain on the symptom: More people are held back by their self-belief than propelled by it.
You can think about confidence as a speed limiter on your system.
You have capacity for more but your self-doubt limits your ability to chase it.
Self-doubt causes you to avoid taking risks which means you move more slowly than your competition.
It encourages you to criticise your performance, even when you do well, which damages your motivation.
It makes you compare yourself to other’s achievements, making you feel inferior by comparison.
Your mind is not helping you here.
Placing insatiable demands on your performance doesn’t drive you to perform better, it just makes you sad at never feeling satisfied, even with a job well done.
“There is a guy out there with half your talent but 10x your self-belief making 5x the money.” - George Mack