It may seem highly normal for some persons to just venture into something with this assuring confidence, even when they knew failure was a kind of certainty for them. Okay, erase the failure part. Considering that there was this hope for success, it was still amazing to see them do such...with great confidence.
The thing about doubting oneself is the recurring nature of the effect it tends to have on a person. I think one is seemingly no better than a prisoner, caged in his or her own fears rather than the bars of a prison. And that might be the worst prison in life; one that you've created for yourself and are living there every day of your life.
The subject of self-doubt can be an encompassing one. This because it tends to play a role in how you attend to life's situations. In a world that requires resilience, perseverance, a never say no attitude, constant zeal to move forward, making new waves, I doubt - yeah, I doubt here - that there is much of a place for one with little or no confidence in themself and their abilities.
The world today might hardly provide one with several opportunities. It may seem it only picks some persons to do well to, but I think the confident ones rather get to be well positioned for that.
Imagine a man coming into a restaurant and asking if there were ten persons who could carry out a certain service or skill. And one interesting thing about the offer is that he mentioned some thousands of dollars attached to it. Someone might be there, thinking with such amount they're far from the kind of persons needed. No, I think it's self-doubt - even though I agree situations might be where you know you don't qualify enough.
Last month, Elon Musk shared an open job offer for those who are into coding. You won't doubt me when I say many dared not to apply because it was "Elon Musk".
Well, I think self-doubt is cheap, but its consequences are expensive. Hence, this leads me to my experience about self-doubt and how I got my antidote.
Going through the primary educational stage, I was one with very much self-doubt within me. When my mates would be clamoring and shouting, "uncle me" or "aunty me", some even going ahead to add "please" to the statement so as to answer questions. I on the other end was also saying "please" - in my mind rather - that I should not be chosen to, or that they should even look towards where I was seated. I wonder how I trusted a chair - the work of one confident carpenter - to hold me and I sit there doubting my ability to answer a simple question. I guess we feared the jeer we would receive more than the effects of not trying.
Yeah, I said we. This because it was seemingly a common case with many persons. I recently heard two persons narrate their ordeal about self-doubt and it was not far-fetched from my case too.
Through time and through many classes, I continually get crippled by this doubt in myself. Until a certain day in one of my late classes of that stage. This day a question was asked as usual. To my amazement, the ever willing to answer kids didn't raise their hands. It was a surprising one to me. And here I was, with the sole opportunity to prove something to myself. After some hesitation, I can't really tell how I raised my hand to answer the question. And yes, I got the question so right I too got a taste of what the kids who answered questions do - a good round of applause. I guess it amazed many that day.
That day henceforth, I felt easy to answer questions and attempt the ones I wasn't even sure of. I didn't have to suffer self-doubt during my secondary education. If I didn't answer a question I knew, it was because I didn't want to, and not a matter of self-doubt. Sometimes I just wanted to be reserved.
I think self-doubt took a while lot from me especially in this sense, but I'm glad I was able to address it at some good point in my life. One crucial thing that holds me to self-confidence than self-doubt is acknowledging how much of potential God, who created me has put in me and the ability to wield them, not rather a timid attitude.