Top 88 Self-Doubt Quotes

Everything you want to accomplish is already within yourself so when you start to roll in self-doubt and think negative thoughts then you’ll fall off. So keep visualising and keep knowing what you’re destined for, it’ll come to you.

There is a healthy amount of self-doubt and criticism with most people that make music. You find your areas that are your best. Onstage, I am good. But talking to someone in the grocery store? Forget about it.

Life is about overcoming self-doubt. But you don’t grow if you don’t question yourself.

Until I really dealt with a lot of the demons in my life – the fear and self-doubt and unresolved issues with my old man – I could never feel fulfilled and happy. I would wake up in the morning and feel bad.

I’m super grateful that there wasn’t social media when I was a kid, but that sort of self-doubt crept in at a young age. It’s bullying. It’s the comments here and there, and maybe somebody says something to you that they don’t even mean to be a mean-spirited comment, but they’ll just kind of say it to you in passing.

Sometimes, my self-doubt became self-limiting.

I am incredibly self-deprecating. It stems from self-doubt.

I am always in self-doubt… every moment of my filmmaking. I am supremely confident when the story is being written and everything is in our head. But the moment we get into the filmmaking, I start doubting myself – from the camera angle to the re-recording to getting the actors to do their shots.

I found my first novel difficult. I don’t want to make it sound like it’s any more difficult than driving a cab or going to any other job, but there are so many opportunities for self-doubt, that you just kind of need to soldier on.

I do want to say the process of writing a novel is riddled with self-doubt and self-loathing.

Ironically, parenting is a shame and judgment minefield precisely because most of us are wading through uncertainty and self-doubt when it comes to raising our children.

Sometimes, when I am in a moment of self-doubt, I think – you’re Violet Chachki, you can do and achieve whatever you want.

Everybody, as soon as they do a good experiment, their first thought in this lab is, ‘That can’t be right. I must have screwed it up. What did I do wrong?’ And that’s the best kind of scientist because they’re filled with this self-doubt. And if I’m going to be honest, that’s who I am. And it’s what drives me.

For most entertainers, there is a single experience, one defining moment, when confidence replaces the self-doubt that most of us wrestle with.

I never had trouble within the audition room. That is a room that I control. So while I certainly experienced versions of what Titus Andromedon was going through, I never experienced the self-doubt.

I’d never put much thought into writing an autobiography before, because while I have this public persona of being extremely confident, I also am extremely filled with self-doubt, worry and insecurity. This book came about because I was trying to sell another book, unsuccessfully, about health and wellness.

Belief in oneself is incredibly infectious. It generates momentum, the collective force of which far outweighs any kernel of self-doubt that may creep in.

I spoke without fear of contradiction. I simply did not suffer self-doubt.

The Savior isn’t our last chance; He is our only chance. Our only chance to overcome self-doubt and catch a vision of who we may become. Our only chance to repent and have our sins washed clean.

I’d been shy since childhood, constantly full of self-doubt. And as an actor, I’d been so scared of failing that I made my career – and myself – a big joke.

Words, especially when yelled in anger, can be very damaging to a child’s self-confidence. The child probably already feels bad enough just from seeing the consequences of his or her behavior. Our sons and daughters don’t need more guilt and self-doubt heaped upon their already wounded egos.

Pressure is self-doubt when you’re unprepared.

I’ve always been very insecure and had a lot of self-doubt growing up. That was partially because of how I was raised.

I have self-doubt. I have insecurity. I have fear of failure. I have nights when I show up at the arena and I’m like, ‘My back hurts, my feet hurt, my knees hurt. I don’t have it. I just want to chill.’ We all have self-doubt. You don’t deny it, but you also don’t capitulate to it. You embrace it.

We’re past the self-doubt. We just have fun with it and just try to make the best music that we can make.

The worst thing about that kind of prejudice… is that while you feel hurt and angry and all the rest of it, it feeds you self-doubt. You start thinking, perhaps I am not good enough.

There has been a lot of self-doubt and unwelcome events in my life.

When it comes to procrastination and overthinking, we have to overcome our self-doubt.

Every movie has the thing it’s about, and then, deep down, it has this thing that it’s really about. ‘Star Wars‘ is not really about a space opera, action, and the galactic quest. It’s about self-doubt.

When you’re winning, your confidence is through the roof, but when you’re losing, that self-doubt is like, ‘Am I doing the right thing?’

Only those with skin as thick as elephant hide can hope to sail through their teens unscathed by self-doubt and bouts of depression.

Good physicians are rarely dispassionate. They agonize and self-doubt over patients.

It’s heartbreaking to see so many people trapped in a web of enforced idleness, deep debt, and gnawing self-doubt.

Tolerance, openness to argument, openness to self-doubt, willingness to see other people’s points of view – these are very liberal and enlightened values that people are right to hold, but we can’t allow them to delude us to the point where we can’t recognise people who are needlessly perpetrating human misery.

Actors are no strangers to self-doubt, fear, and rejection.

If I’m not nervous, if I don’t have at least a little bit of the same self-doubt and anxious feelings I had when I started playing, then it will be time for me to go on. I must have that tension.

You are bigger than your self-doubt. Remind yourself of that each and every day.

It’s very difficult to judge yourself. Extreme self-doubt is only attractive when it’s fictionalized. Which is why people love the movies. They are so reassuring.

I spoke without fear of contradiction. I simply did not suffer self-doubt.

It’s always a long process of trying to suppress the self-doubt on set when you’re acting.

I go through different phases where there’s times of self-doubt, but when the bell rings and it’s time to throw down and I get another opponent in my face, I just go to work my best. I fight and usually it turns out well for me.

That’s the downside of total creative control: You’re isolated and after a while you can lose a little perspective. But I’ve taught myself not to listen to my own self-doubt.

A novel is often a longer process in handling self-doubt.

I think self-doubt, as grim as it can be, makes me a better writer. Stasis and hubris would probably be the death knell for my career.

Financial trouble, financial crisis, medical trouble, I’ve seen it all. But I never experienced a moment of breakdown or self-doubt, somehow.

However you arrive at the ability to ignore self-doubt – if you can acquire it or possess it or find it or discover it – move beyond self-doubt.

I have my moments. Ever since I was a boy, I never was someone who was at ease with happiness. Too often I embrace introspection and self-doubt. I wish I could embrace the good things.

People speak of the fear of the blank canvas as though it is a temporary hesitation, a trembling moment of self-doubt. For me it was more like being abducted from my bed by a clown, thrust into a circus arena with a wicker chair, and told to tame a pissed-off lion in front of an expectant crowd.

When I re-read my diaries, it’s the self-doubt that seems to be prevalent.

The biggest thing I’ve learned is just to not doubt myself as much as I do. Having self-doubt is definitely necessary, but it’s about not letting it get in the way. When it turns into fear, you run into problems.

I know it when I don’t know it. Sometimes I know it when I don’t think I know it. I need to trust myself in these moments, these rare moments of self-doubt.

I have anxiety and self-doubt all the time, it’s a battle.

And by the way, everything in life is writable about if you have the outgoing guts to do it, and the imagination to improvise. The worst enemy to creativity is self-doubt.

Self-doubt is real. Everyone has it. Having confidence and losing confidence is real, too, and everyone has been in that position.

Self-doubt kills talent.

Although my marriage left me with three beautiful children, it also left me with a healthy dose of self-doubt, low self-esteem, and an extreme desire to be loved again. I was operating on empty, expecting to be paid in full.

The temptation to quit and start over infects every creative process I’ve ever been in. Frustration and boredom always fuel this self-doubt.

I have anxiety and self-doubt all the time, it’s a battle.

I do have high standards. I look at everything I have done and think, ‘Why wasn’t that better?’ Part of my motivation is from crippling self-doubt – I have got to prove myself wrong.

My dad, he would go through these periods of self-doubt. We’d do something that was controversial or that wasn’t welcomed by everybody, and he’d go, ‘Well, Shirley, our parents cursed us with ethics, and we passed it on to our children.’

I have self-doubt. I have insecurity. I have fear of failure. I have nights when I show up at the arena and I’m like, ‘My back hurts, my feet hurt, my knees hurt. I don’t have it. I just want to chill.’ We all have self-doubt. You don’t deny it, but you also don’t capitulate to it. You embrace it.

My creativeness stems from my love of music. Music is pure emotion. Music is the infinity sign. Music is self-expression in its purest form – it’s how I express my anger, my self-doubt, my love. I think my music is very vulnerable and very expressive, very transparent.

If I’m not nervous, if I don’t have at least a little bit of the same self-doubt and anxious feelings I had when I started playing, then it will be time for me to go on. I must have that tension.

If youre sure that everything youre going to do is going to be good, then whats the point? I used to think of it as just crippling self-doubt. Now I kind of see it as a sign that Im teetering on the edge of something new. Or troubling.

I’m full of self-doubt. I doubt everything I do. Everything I do is a failure.

I think that, to be an artist, you have to have a big enough ego to believe that people out in the world want to see what you think is a good idea. And if you don’t have that sense of ego, then the minute that idea goes into the world, self-doubt kicks in.

I do have high standards. I look at everything I have done and think, ‘Why wasn’t that better?’ Part of my motivation is from crippling self-doubt – I have got to prove myself wrong.

You don’t have to do everything by the time you’re 30. Or 40. All you need is a work ethic. It’s what allows you to push through moments of disappointment and self-doubt and fear.

I know it when I don’t know it. Sometimes I know it when I don’t think I know it. I need to trust myself in these moments, these rare moments of self-doubt.

And by the way, everything in life is writable about if you have the outgoing guts to do it, and the imagination to improvise. The worst enemy to creativity is self-doubt.

While Muslim men describe themselves as insecure in their harems, real or imagined, Westerners describe themselves as self-assured heroes with no fears of women. The tragic dimension so present in Muslim harems – fear of women and male self-doubt – is missing in the Western harem.

I think self-doubt, as grim as it can be, makes me a better writer. Stasis and hubris would probably be the death knell for my career.

I’m this real creative guy who was really good at design and coding stuff, but wasn’t that kind of manager. I spent too much time in self-doubt and limiting my impact because I was trying to be somebody I wasn’t.

As a writer, you have to believe you’re one of the best writers in the world. To sit down every day at the typewriter filled with self-doubt is not a good idea.

I went through a lot of feelings of self-doubt and loss of self-esteem. I was particularly vulnerable after having my son. It was rough getting back on my feet in the business.

There has been a lot of self-doubt and unwelcome events in my life.

The rigors of creativity – the self-doubt, the revising, the solitude – do require a kind of self-consumption. It comes at a cost; a cost that isn’t for everyone.

Acting tough is all about developing an attitude and a persona that says, ‘Look at how great I am.’ But often, that tough exterior is meant to hide self-doubt. Mentally strong people invest more energy into working on their weaknesses rather than trying to cover them up.

Self-doubt kills talent.

When you’re winning, your confidence is through the roof, but when you’re losing, that self-doubt is like, ‘Am I doing the right thing?’

A novel is often a longer process in handling self-doubt.

Soft Sounds‘ was really hard for me. I was petrified of the ‘sophomore slump‘ so I created an environment to best combat that self-doubt and feelings that my first album was a real fluke.

The Savior isn’t our last chance; He is our only chance. Our only chance to overcome self-doubt and catch a vision of who we may become. Our only chance to repent and have our sins washed clean.

I was always rather outspoken. I worried about what people thought of me but there really wasn’t room for a lot of self-doubt.

The moment you feel yourself hesitate on something you know you should do, count 5-4-3-2-1 to activate your prefrontal cortex and interrupt the habit of overthinking, self-doubt, and fear.

Life is about overcoming self-doubt. But you don’t grow if you don’t question yourself.

Everything you want to accomplish is already within yourself so when you start to roll in self-doubt and think negative thoughts then you’ll fall off. So keep visualising and keep knowing what you’re destined for, it’ll come to you.

I’m super grateful that there wasn’t social media when I was a kid, but that sort of self-doubt crept in at a young age. It’s bullying. It’s the comments here and there, and maybe somebody says something to you that they don’t even mean to be a mean-spirited comment, but they’ll just kind of say it to you in passing.