The journey to career growth is often filled with ups and downs. While excitement and ambition push us forward, self-doubt often creeps in. This unwelcome companion can take different forms, planting seeds of negativity like "you're not good enough" or "you don't belong here." If left unchecked, self-doubt can become a significant roadblock to achieving our full career potential.

Although self-doubt is a common enemy, it's not unbeatable. In this blog, “How to Overcome Self-Doubt in Your Career,” we'll provide the tools and strategies to overcome self-doubt and confidently navigate the path to career success.

What is Self-Doubt?

Throughout your lifespan, you’ve likely experienced moments of insecurity or uncertainty. It’s normal to have self-doubt, especially when stretching outside your comfort zone through positive experiences like taking a new job, applying for an exciting opportunity, or trying an activity with no history of success. Doubt or self-criticism experienced in these moments is appropriate and can serve as a powerful motivator to operate at your best. However, when self-doubt becomes constant and leads to low self-esteem, self-doubt is no longer beneficial for your mental health. As BetterUp affirms, “Too much doubt and fear can hold you from performing well and reaching your full potential.”

Self-doubt is about lacking confidence in yourself and what you believe you can achieve. While self-doubt is not an official mental illness, there is a correlation between doubt and one’s mental health. For example, a study by the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology found that negative self-talk, a common sign of self-doubt, was significantly related to symptoms of mood disorders like anxiety and depression. The study also showed that people who used negative self-talk had higher cortisol levels (the stress hormone) than those with positive self-talk during a stress-inducing task.

Can you imagine being at an inflection point in your career where growth or advancement is within your grasp? Now imagine how self-doubt could sabotage you on the precipice of success as you sink into burnout, begin to play small, and run from a prime opportunity.

Self-doubt can have detrimental effects on your level of confidence. The low self-esteem caused by perpetual doubt can negatively affect your thoughts, emotions, and behaviors.

Verywell Mind lists the following as symptoms of low self-esteem:

Lack of confidence
External locus of control
Negative social comparisons
Trouble asking for help
Worry and doubt
Difficulty accepting compliments
Fear of failure
Poor outlook of the future
Lack of boundaries
Being a people-pleaser
Negative self-talk.

Have you experienced any of these symptoms of low self-esteem or self-doubt? If so, be encouraged that you don’t have to continue operating in the world like you have in the past. It’s possible to live and work better from a place of confidence. Through therapy or coaching at Healthy Minds NYC, you can overcome the adverse effects of self-doubt that have plagued your performance and sabotaged your motivation.

How to Overcome Self-Doubt and Overthinking

Since the core of self-doubt is having negative beliefs about yourself, the solution to overcome self-doubt is to reframe your negative thoughts. You can learn to challenge your inner critic and tell yourself a new story about who you are and what you can do.

Begin confronting negative thoughts by recognizing your strengths. Tola Oladiji suggests listing what you’re good at, the positive feedback you’ve received in the past, and any accomplishments you have. You can review this list periodically for a confidence boost when your inner critic starts screaming.

Next, as you have a negative thought about yourself, combat it by finding evidence to debunk the thought. For example, if you secretly hope to ask your boss for a raise but dismiss the desire because you believe “I’m not good enough to deserve a raise,” challenge the thought. Ask yourself what kinds of traits qualify a person to receive a raise. Then, find evidence supporting the idea that you have met those metrics throughout your career. Your confidence will grow as you think of yourself differently, and your actions may shift to get you the response you want.

Another way to gain confidence and deal with negative thoughts is by developing new skills or advancing in skills you already have. At Healthy Minds NYC, many clients contact us when considering a career shift. They may be unhappy in their current role or simply longing to work from home or in a new field. Before leaving their job, our coaches and therapists often encourage these clients to pick up a new hobby or skill. When we allow ourselves to be beginners at anything, we can develop a growth mindset that empowers us to move into uncharted territory with the resilient spirit needed for significant life changes. With a growth mindset, you’re more likely to see obstacles or setbacks as opportunities to learn, improve, and adapt rather than as confirmation of incompetence.

How can you emotionally prepare for a career shift?

You must manage your emotions if you are dealing with self-doubt but hoping to make a career transition. All change can be dysregulating, even changes we actively pursue or desire. Be kind to yourself. LinkedIn offers several helpful suggestions for combatting negative thoughts we encounter with a career change.

Here are some ideas from LinkedIn you might consider to manage your own emotions through a professional shift:

Identify your core values. If you’ve never thought about your core values or created a plan for your life, book a free consultation with our life coach. We regularly guide clients through putting language to their inner values and wiring so they can construct a strategic plan for their lives.
Accept your emotions. Acknowledge your feelings without judgment and allow time to process what you’re experiencing.
Seek support. Reach out to your network of family, friends, colleagues, and mentors as a reminder that you don’t have to navigate the career shift alone.
Maintain balance. As you make a career shift, take good care of yourself by prioritizing your health, boundaries, and personal needs outside work.

Cultivating a Growth Mindset vs. a Fixed Mindset

Often, self-doubt runs rampant because our expectations for ourselves are unrealistic. We leave no room for growth or change when we expect ourselves to be perfect at each moment. New Yorkers know the pressure to operate at the highest level to compete in an intense professional landscape. Unfortunately, that drive to be the best leaves little room to be human, constantly growing and changing. Remember, it’s okay to be a work in progress, improving each day.

This way of thinking is known as holding a growth mindset. Harvard Business School describes an individual with a growth mindset as someone who “views intelligence, abilities, and talents as learnable and capable of improvement through effort. On the other hand, someone with a fixed mindset views those same traits as inherently stable and unchangeable over time.” A fixed mindset requires perfection now and expects a finished product or an end goal to be reached without leeway for growth.

How do you think of yourself? Do you consider yourself a “mess” or “out of control?” If so, is it possible that you have adopted a fixed mindset that leaves you no room to grow over time? Perhaps you’re constantly experiencing self-doubt and low self-esteem because you are not giving yourself permission for personal growth. At some point, you latched onto a mindset that dictated you must always be perfect and complete.

The good news is a commitment to personal growth is the pathway to developing a growth mindset and leaving behind a fixed mindset. Here are a few simple ways you can cultivate a growth mindset instead of a fixed mindset in your work by continuously allowing yourself to improve:

Network and connect with other professionals in your industry.
Explore new ideas by reading and researching advancements or changes in your field.
Become a problem-solver by identifying what’s not working in your industry and brainstorming ways to address these issues.

In addition to halting a fixed mindset and adopting a growth mindset in your work, you can also focus on growth in your personal life. One way to do this is through a radical commitment to self-care. At Healthy Minds NYC, we know high-performing individuals often resist self-care because it feels self-indulgent or like neglecting more essential responsibilities. However, caring for yourself is one of your most significant priorities. Our therapists and coaches like to think of self-care as falling into one of three categories that make up your overall P.E.P. Cycle:

Physical

Physical self-care practices help get you in touch with your body or improve your physical health. Physical actions include taking a midday walk, getting a massage, or napping.

Emotional

Emotional practices help you to access your emotions. For example, Berkeley Well-Being Institute shares how listening to relaxing music can reduce cortisol (the stress hormone). In addition to music, you could soothe your emotional system by journaling, practicing gratitude, or doing a mindfulness meditation.

Psychological

Anything that helps stimulate you mentally can be considered a solid psychological self-care practice. Studying a new language, reading the newspaper, or listening to a podcast on NPR is intellectually stimulating and a great way to break through a fixed mindset.

As you create a P.E.P. Cycle for yourself, honoring your needs and fostering a growth mindset, you actively work to overcome self-doubt. It may not immediately feel like your mindset changes, but part of overcoming self-doubt is getting more comfortable showing compassion and kindness. As you treat yourself well, you send an internal signal saying, “I am worth loving and caring for.”

Check out our career services by clicking here to learn how we can help you advance your career and cultivate a growth mindset. You can also schedule a free consultation with our care coordinator to get started with Healthy Minds NYC.

How to Overcome Self-Doubt in Your Career