Some life situations test the abilities of individuals. When competence is being questioned, it creates uncertainty and doubt. Once doubt penetrates the individuals’ belief, it slowly grows until it causes disturbance in their functioning.
Self-doubt
Self-doubt is the general sense of feeling unsure or uncertain about one’s competence and abilities. Doubt often emerges when self-esteem or valued abilities are threatened. For instance, perceived failure implies that individuals are not competent enough, affecting their perceptions and behaviours.
Moreover, past instances of success help validate and affirm individuals’ abilities, increasing self-competence. However, difficulty recalling past information about success makes them question their abilities’ accurately, causing them to feel less confident or more doubtful of their abilities.
Because doubt elicits uncomfortable feelings, people develop defensive and protective behaviours against chronic self-doubt.
Protective behaviours in chronic self-doubt
- Self-handicapping
Self-doubt compromises individuals’ image of competence; thus, they engage in self-handicapping to preserve their sense of competence in instances of possible failures. For example, people withdraw from a situation or create obstacles to jeopardise their performance to avoid failure. Instead, they attribute the perceived failure to external factors to prevent possible judgments of incompetence.
- Overachievement
Since individuals are uncertain if their abilities alone yield success, they put a lot of effort into their performance to ensure a higher chance of success and avoid possible failure.
- Impostor phenomenon
When a task or goal is achieved, individuals who doubt their abilities believe that the success was not a reflection of their abilities. Instead, they disregard their efforts and attribute success to external factors such as luck, the help of other people, or timing.
Desired self
Individuals engage in protective behaviours, such as self-handicapping, overachievement, or impostor syndrome to preserve their image of competence and protect their self-esteem. People who doubt their abilities lack a strong perception of their capabilities. Chronic experience of self-doubt often comes from the absence of a strong desired self.
Desired self is an adaptive, realistic, and attainable representation of self-concept or abilities. It is used as a guide in sustaining confidence. They help organise, energise, and direct self-confidence to nurture competence. For instance, the desired self organises information to achieve a goal. This organised approach enhances individuals’ skills through concrete and specific plan of action. Mastery of skills creates a positive effect that energises individuals. The positive outcome directs individuals to engage more in actions and decisions that nurture their abilities. Constant activation of the desired self strengthens self-confidence and self-competence, overriding self-doubt.
Personal narratives
Self-doubt often creates a discrepancy between the perceived and actual abilities of individuals. However, creating a personal narrative about their abilities can bridge these discrepancies.
Personal narratives serve as a guide for people to better understand their thoughts and behaviours. Stories help people draw a connection between their past and present behaviours, necessary in regulating their feelings and thoughts. For instance, they can learn from their past failures to avoid negative emotions and prevent experiencing similar scenarios in the future.
The collected stories about the self are used to develop a stronger representation of the desired self, helpful in minimising self-doubt. Using their personal narrative as an anchor, particularly when faced with an unsettling experience, can help preserve their sense of competence and self-esteem. Instead of allowing self-doubt to overwhelm them, they can use their personal narrative to refute the possible threat and focus on strengthening their competence.
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