Doubt is Lying to You: How to Reclaim Your Confidence and Take Bold Action

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Welcome to the Leadership Quotient, where we explore the wisdom of those who’ve led before us to help us all lead better today. I’m Dusty Holcomb. Here’s what I believe. Before you can lead others, you must lead yourself. In every episode, we take a powerful quote and we wrestle with it together, drawing out the hard truths and the real life leadership lessons that will help you lead with clarity, purpose, and impact.

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Because leadership is built one intentional choice at a time. Let’s get started. Doubt is a killer. You just have to know who you are and what you believe in, and then go for it. Joan Rivers.

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Doubt is a slow thief. It doesn’t crash in like a wrecking ball. It creeps in whispering, lingering. One hesitation turns into a pattern and before you know it, you’ve spent weeks, months, maybe even years questioning yourself instead of taking action. I know this feeling all too well.

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There was a time in my career when I had a leadership decision sitting in front of me, one that could change everything. I had the data. I had the insight, but I hesitated. What if I made the wrong call? What if I fail?

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I convinced myself I needed just one more piece of validation, one more conversation, one more safety net. And guess what happened? Nothing. I waited too long and the opportunity passed. That’s what doubt does.

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It steals your momentum, your clarity, and your confidence, But here’s the truth. Doubt only has power. If you let it. Today, we’re going to unpack why doubt creeps in, why it shows up at the most inconvenient times and how to silence it, Not by eliminating it, but by taking action anyway. Doubt doesn’t hit you all at once.

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It sneaks in through small hesitations, tiny moments of overthinking and the endless game of what ifs. Leadership research shows that 46% of leaders believe self doubt has limited their potential while forty one percent have considered leaving their roles because of it. And it’s not just individual careers. Doubt affects entire teams, organizations, and cultures. The longer we sit with doubt, the stronger it becomes.

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And the worst part, if you don’t challenge it, doubt starts to define you. So how do we break the cycle? It starts with knowing who you are. Here’s the problem. If you don’t define what you stand for, doubt will do it for you.

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I’ve seen this time and time again, The leaders who struggle the most with confidence aren’t necessarily lacking skill. They’re lacking clarity. They don’t know what their nonnegotiables are, what they truly believe in, or what matters most when everything is on the line. Ask yourself, who are you when no one is watching? What principles guide your choices?

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What fires you up and makes you come alive? If you don’t take the time to define these things, you’ll end up being pushed by the expectations of others. Confidence isn’t pretending you have it all figured out. It’s about knowing where you stand even when the storm rolls in. A great book that dives into this is The Gifts of Imperfection by Brene Brown.

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It’s about embracing who you are and not letting self doubt dictate your worth. Doubt shows up when you’re on the right path. Let’s challenge a common belief. What if doubt isn’t a warning sign? What if it’s proof that you’re stepping into something meaningful?

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Doubt doesn’t show up when you’re playing it safe. It shows up when you’re pushing yourself, stepping into something that matters. Think about it. If you weren’t stretching beyond your comfort zone, fear wouldn’t bother showing up. Steven Pressfield talks about this in the war of art.

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He calls it resistance. The invisible force that shows up every time we try to do something important. It’s the reason we hesitate before taking a risk, sending that email, or stepping into leadership. But here’s the key. Resistance only shows up when you’re doing work that matters.

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So the next time doubt whispers, what if you fail? Flip the question. What if this is exactly where I need to be? Let me tell you a story. There was a time in my leadership journey when I had an opportunity in front of me, a chance to lead a new initiative that would stretch me beyond anything I had done before.

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But I hesitated. I told myself I’m not ready yet. I need more time. The truth. I was waiting for confidence to show up before I acted.

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And that’s the lie we tell ourselves. We think confidence comes first, but it doesn’t. Confidence follows action. Tim Urban’s TED talk Inside the Mind of a Master Procrastinator explains as well. He describes how procrastination isn’t about laziness.

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It’s about fear. And fear is only defeated by movement. So ask yourself what’s one step I can take today. Even if I don’t feel ready resistance means you’re doing something important instead of seeing doubt as a reason to stop. See it as a signal that you’re growing.

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Every great leader, entrepreneur, and creator has faced doubt. The difference isn’t that they never feel it. It’s that they don’t let it decide for them. Instead of asking, what if I fail? Ask, what can I learn from this?

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Instead of waiting for confidence, take action and let confidence follow. Instead of seeing doubt as an enemy, recognize it as a sign that you’re stepping into something worthwhile. Remember, doubt doesn’t define you. Your choices do. Practical takeaways, how to overcome doubt today.

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Here are three things you can do right now to start overcoming doubt. First, define your non negotiable values. If you don’t know what you stand for, doubt will push you around. Take ten minutes to write down your top three values and how they guide your decisions. Second, take the first small step.

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Whatever you’ve been hesitating on, do something about it today. Make the call. Send the email. Take the step. Third, reframe doubt as a growth signal.

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If doubt is showing up, it means you’re growing. Lean into it instead of backing away. Doubt is inevitable, but it doesn’t have to be in charge. The key to overcoming doubt is clarity in action. Knowing who you are, standing firm in your beliefs, and moving forward despite uncertainty.

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So here’s my challenge for you. What’s one bold step you’ve been avoiding because of doubt? Take it today. Don’t wait for fear to disappear. It won’t move forward anyway.

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That’s it for today’s conversation on the leadership quotient. Before you move on to whatever’s next, pause, Sit with this quote. Let it work on you. Leadership is shaped in these moments. The quiet decisions no one sees but you.

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Take this. Turn it into action. And if this resonated with you, share it with someone else on their leadership journey because we all lead better together. Until next time, lead well and lead on purpose.