How To Fight Self Doubt and Imposter Syndrome

Self-doubt is pretty common. Even the top entrepreneurs, celebrities, and writers feel it.

And, then comes the feeling of imposter.

Research says, a whopping 84% of entrepreneurs and small business owners experience imposter syndrome.

If you’re an entrepreneur or a creative professional, there are days when you feel like you’re a fraud. You’re fake. You don’t know anything.

You feel like you might fail even when you’ve been doing it for the past few years.

Fear takes up the front seat.

Now, self-doubt and imposter syndrome is part of the journey. The only thing that matters is how you counter this and take control of your mind.

What should you do when fear creeps in?

Steal a technique from David Goggins.

Goggins is a retired Navy SEAL. He is the only member of the U.S. Armed Forces to complete SEAL training (including two Hell Weeks), the U.S. Army Ranger School, and Air Force Tactical Air Controller training.

He completed the Badwater marathon twice, one of the hardest and most brutal races in the world. He has competed in over 60 marathons, ultra-marathons, triathlons, and ultra-triathlons.

He has set numerous course records and regularly places in the top five. He also held the Guinness World Record for pull-ups, completing 4,030 pull-ups in 17 hours.

That’s the guy I’m talking about…

When David was young, he went through a lot of trauma.

One day, there was no money left, nothing in the bank, nothing to eat…

… David and his mother recalled they had two jars filled with pennies and loose change…

They flushed out all the coins and checked how much that added. It was enough for groceries, filling the car tank, and some burgers.

That cookie jar came to the rescue.

*Flash Forward*

When David was running a marathon for 100 miles without training and he came near the point of 70 miles, he started to lose all his strength. He didn’t have the energy to take one step.

At this very moment, he started to grab cookies.

Here’s what he writes about it in his book, Can’t Hurt Me.

When David didn’t have the energy to continue the marathon. At this very moment, he started to recall his wins, both big and small… He thought about how he made it through the tough times during his Navy SEAL training and all the accomplishments before that.

Here’s how you use the cookie jar method to fight self-doubt and imposter syndrome

Make a list of all your wins. Big or Small. It doesn’t matter how small they are, or how old they are. It might be something from your school, or when you had no idea what you were doing.

Why take your small accomplishments seriously?

Here’s what David writes about it…

How I use the cookie jar method

I’ve added a page to my journal where I’ve written my past wins and I keep adding things to the list.

I’m a copywriter. When I’m signing up for some difficult project, I sometimes feel like an imposter. So I’ve made a Notion page with links to all my projects. When I scroll just through the page, I start to feel better and more confident.

- Noman Shaikh

P. S. This newsletter is not just the book summaries. It is about actionable insights that you could take away and start implementing immediately.