Self Doubt: The Sharp Pebble in Our Shoe

“It isn’t the mountains ahead to climb that wear you out; it’s the pebble in your shoe.” Muhammad Ali

Muhammad Ali was a great boxer but also was known for standing up for what he believed in and having a quick wit (“floats like a butterfly, stings like a bee”). His quote is a reminder that self-doubt and negativity can be the one of the heaviest boulders we carry in life.

I am naturally an anxious person and I have encountered self-doubt on many occasions. In my experience, when I have found myself on a spiral of anxiety self-doubt makes it hard to do the simple things. During this situation, I will recognize that I have overcome plenty of anxious days or weeks but still question my ability to eat a meal or go out for a social occasion. Yet, once I successfully complete one of these simple endeavors the self-doubt disappears for another time.

Self-doubt can be a “pebble in your shoe” that causes you to question your decisions and prevent you from actively pursuing what is troubling you at that moment. One of my therapists Laurie Shamamy called this negative information and overthinking the “evil monkey in your head.” This “evil monkey” freezes us in an anxious state (shaking, sweating) and causes us to run around the negative track in our mind without being aware of the present and reality. The “evil monkey” wants you to get stuck in your head and not actively seek out ways to move on from this period of anxiety.

Being aware of the “evil monkey” in our head and accepting that at moments self-doubt will stumble you in your tracks indicates that you are a human being and that you are only one action away from escaping the overthinking monster.