One of the most universal emotions that connects all of us has to be self-doubt.
Everyone experiences self-doubt. The only people who don’t are the ones that should.
No matter how talented someone is, they likely experience moments of doubt and a lack of faith in their ideas.
Self-worth is often a pendulum that can swing either way on any given day. But without self-worth and confidence in your ideas, it’s hard to sell people on them and even harder to execute.
How to build your self-worth: Find Tiny Validations for your Ideas
I obsess over both creative and humorous writing. In my head, there is a dichotomy of someone who believes they have a lot of great ideas and potential, but also has nagging doubts. This is the mind of every creative.
Steven Pressfield gives the nagging/doubting voice we all have a name–the resistance: “The more you love your art/ calling/ enterprise, the more important its accomplishment to the evolution of your soul, the more you will fear it and the more Resistance you will experience facing it.”
Just the tiniest validation of your ideas and work can become a big motivator and help you shut out the resistance.
There have been three specific instances this year that gave me a boost of momentum and validated what I’m trying to accomplish.
1. A Facebook Contest…
The witty Teresa Strasser, author of Exploiting My Baby, had a Facebook contest where you had to come up with our own baby memoir title. Out of 20 or so comments, mine was picked as the winner. Tiny validation.
2. The Adam Carolla Podcast…
Early this year, Adam Carolla’s news girl asked listeners to send in their Twitter suggestions for a new tagline. I tweeted one out and it got picked. You can hear the tweet get read (and my name roasted) on Soundcloud. Again, another tiny validation.
3. Tagline Contest…
A few months ago I saw a Facebook ad from a sales company that needed a tagline. They were offering an iPad 2 to whomever could come up with the tagline they picked. I brainstormed 10 ideas and sent them over. A few weeks later I heard they were going to announce the winner during a webinar.
This provided a massive amount of creative fuel.
Having confidence and self-worth in your ideas isn’t easy, but tiny validations can provide a much needed boost of momentum.
Connect with me on Twitter: @BenNesvig