The evidence folder
On anxiety and reminding yourself you're not a fraud.
You know when something just works, and you didn’t even have to force it?
You feel like you didn’t hustle enough for it, but it worked out?
It can be a rare & nice feeling, things falling into place.
When not EVERYTHING (even if many things) feels like a grind.
Building the launch/anyway community for solopreneurs has felt like a natural progression (more behind-the-scenes in the next issue).
But also let’s not pretend that all of my self-doubt is gone. Far from it.
The challenges I mentioned in past editions are still valid: my brain works overtime, I am still driven by anxiety and fear a LOT (even if now at least I am aware of it and dial it down), and sometimes I worry if I’m cut out for this solopreneur life as someone who craves stability.
How I deal with these feelings
This may sound silly, but I started gathering evidence that shows I am capable.
I have a folder full of screenshots of kind things people have said, words of encouragement, messages, comments, photos of moments when I felt good and did good. It lives in my sidebar in the Finder, and I found that’s the easiest way to collect things.
If there’s one thing I urge you to do this week, it’s to create such a folder for yourself.
Your proud moments, an appreciative message from a friend, a project you’re proud of pushing through to finish.
When you feel like an imposter and full of doubt, go through it. It’s really helpful.
This guy is the GOAT
I remember reading the book “Feeling Great: The Revolutionary New Treatment for Depression and Anxiety” by Dr. David Burns, a well-known psychiatrist.
One of the exercises he suggests goes something like this:
Write down your negative thought, then ask yourself — what’s the evidence this thought is 100% true? And what’s the evidence against it?
It sounds simple, almost silly, but it works.
Most of the time, the “evidence” against my anxious thoughts is much stronger than the evidence for them.
I’m not trying to get rid of doubts anymore
I know I’ll probably never wake up without having any doubts. But I can build systems to deal with them when they show up.
I try to go from: “How do I make these feelings disappear?”
to “How do I support myself through them so they don’t paralyse me?”
And for me, the answer is:
→ Save evidence of my wins
→ Challenge my anxious thoughts with facts
→ Remind myself that:
Your feelings are real and valid, but they’re not reliable evidence of reality.
What about you? Do you have your own version of an “evidence folder”? What helps you deal with self-doubt?
If this topic resonates with you, I’d love to hear your thoughts.
See you in the next one <3
– Maria
You know when something just works, and you didn’t even have to force it?
You feel like you didn’t hustle enough for it, but it worked out?
It can be a rare & nice feeling, things falling into place.
When not EVERYTHING (even if many things) feels like a grind.
Building the launch/anyway community for solopreneurs has felt like a natural progression (more behind-the-scenes in the next issue).
But also let’s not pretend that all of my self-doubt is gone. Far from it.
The challenges I mentioned in past editions are still valid: my brain works overtime, I am still driven by anxiety and fear a LOT (even if now at least I am aware of it and dial it down), and sometimes I worry if I’m cut out for this solopreneur life as someone who craves stability.
How I deal with these feelings
This may sound silly, but I started gathering evidence that shows I am capable.
I have a folder full of screenshots of kind things people have said, words of encouragement, messages, comments, photos of moments when I felt good and did good. It lives in my sidebar in the Finder, and I found that’s the easiest way to collect things.
If there’s one thing I urge you to do this week, it’s to create such a folder for yourself.
Your proud moments, an appreciative message from a friend, a project you’re proud of pushing through to finish.
When you feel like an imposter and full of doubt, go through it. It’s really helpful.
This guy is the GOAT
I remember reading the book “Feeling Great: The Revolutionary New Treatment for Depression and Anxiety” by Dr. David Burns, a well-known psychiatrist.
One of the exercises he suggests goes something like this:
Write down your negative thought, then ask yourself — what’s the evidence this thought is 100% true? And what’s the evidence against it?
It sounds simple, almost silly, but it works.
Most of the time, the “evidence” against my anxious thoughts is much stronger than the evidence for them.
I’m not trying to get rid of doubts anymore
I know I’ll probably never wake up without having any doubts. But I can build systems to deal with them when they show up.
I try to go from: “How do I make these feelings disappear?”
to “How do I support myself through them so they don’t paralyse me?”
And for me, the answer is:
→ Save evidence of my wins
→ Challenge my anxious thoughts with facts
→ Remind myself that:
Your feelings are real and valid, but they’re not reliable evidence of reality.
What about you? Do you have your own version of an “evidence folder”? What helps you deal with self-doubt?
If this topic resonates with you, I’d love to hear your thoughts.
See you in the next one <3
– Maria
You know when something just works, and you didn’t even have to force it?
You feel like you didn’t hustle enough for it, but it worked out?
It can be a rare & nice feeling, things falling into place.
When not EVERYTHING (even if many things) feels like a grind.
Building the launch/anyway community for solopreneurs has felt like a natural progression (more behind-the-scenes in the next issue).
But also let’s not pretend that all of my self-doubt is gone. Far from it.
The challenges I mentioned in past editions are still valid: my brain works overtime, I am still driven by anxiety and fear a LOT (even if now at least I am aware of it and dial it down), and sometimes I worry if I’m cut out for this solopreneur life as someone who craves stability.
How I deal with these feelings
This may sound silly, but I started gathering evidence that shows I am capable.
I have a folder full of screenshots of kind things people have said, words of encouragement, messages, comments, photos of moments when I felt good and did good. It lives in my sidebar in the Finder, and I found that’s the easiest way to collect things.
If there’s one thing I urge you to do this week, it’s to create such a folder for yourself.
Your proud moments, an appreciative message from a friend, a project you’re proud of pushing through to finish.
When you feel like an imposter and full of doubt, go through it. It’s really helpful.
This guy is the GOAT
I remember reading the book “Feeling Great: The Revolutionary New Treatment for Depression and Anxiety” by Dr. David Burns, a well-known psychiatrist.
One of the exercises he suggests goes something like this:
Write down your negative thought, then ask yourself — what’s the evidence this thought is 100% true? And what’s the evidence against it?
It sounds simple, almost silly, but it works.
Most of the time, the “evidence” against my anxious thoughts is much stronger than the evidence for them.
I’m not trying to get rid of doubts anymore
I know I’ll probably never wake up without having any doubts. But I can build systems to deal with them when they show up.
I try to go from: “How do I make these feelings disappear?”
to “How do I support myself through them so they don’t paralyse me?”
And for me, the answer is:
→ Save evidence of my wins
→ Challenge my anxious thoughts with facts
→ Remind myself that:
Your feelings are real and valid, but they’re not reliable evidence of reality.
What about you? Do you have your own version of an “evidence folder”? What helps you deal with self-doubt?
If this topic resonates with you, I’d love to hear your thoughts.
See you in the next one <3
– Maria
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